(idea) by stash Sun Jun 10 2001 at 21:29:04
Groceries & Kiddy

  • I'm at a large grocery store with Allen. Without a shopping list, I'm just walking around looking for what's good. When I want some fresh fruit I have a hard time finding it. More exotic fare like star fruit and kumquats are easily visible, but I'm looking for some simple apples. An employee points me towards a ladder, at the top of which I find a bag of apples, sitting on the topmost shelf, hidden from view. When we pass the book section, I get absorbed in the interesting reading material (certainly not standard grocery store crap). I grab a few books and head to the register with my cart. As the cashier runs each item over the barcode scanner, I learn that I've bought way more stuff than I intended. There're items I thought I put back (like a book by Timothy Leary) and even food I never saw. The total is over $200 but I'm not really upset as I pull away towards the parking lot.

  • I've just checked into my own hotel room and am lying on the bed watching tv. Just then, the door opens and a little kid, maybe 2 years old, comes waddling in with curiosity burning in his eyes. I smile as he walks around the room examining things. He comes to a book of mine and I show him the colorful illustrations. Then he gets ahold of the tv remote control and flips the channel to what is obviously a pornographic movie. I hesitate before just letting him do what he wants. Why should I impose my own socially constructed hang-ups on his open mind? After awhile, he waddles back out the door and I follow, escorting him back to his parents who are staying down the hall. They hadn't even noticed he was gone. When I return to my room, I see that the peculiar structure of my room's doorway (two steps go down to a recessed floor while part of the regular floor comes right up to the lowered door) allowed the kid to easily reach and turn the door knob. I smile and walk inside.

I like it!