Adventures in Shopping

Hi, Gang,

   It's been a few days since I last posted; no news is good news, hm?  I mentioned the Black Bean Salsa I was making in the last post, which brings me to the reason I stopped by the grocery store last Friday.  I was in desperate need of Tostitos Scoops.  Since I just needed a bag of chips, Eddie stayed in the car while I dashed in to make a quick purchase.

   I grabbed my selection and looked for the shortest line.  Even when I find the shortest line, it usually turns out to take the longest amount of time.  You know.  Someone ahead of me has a cigar box full of pennies, or the item doesn't have a bar code and won't scan, and they have to send to the back forty for a price check.  Or the register runs out of tape, or they have six different orders that are all paid in coupons.  That sort of thing.  This time, it looked like I was in luck.  I glanced at the register, and a woman with a long, curly, black pony tail and earrings was nearly through checking out.  As a man in a work uniform approached me from behind, it seemed to me that I had noticed him leaving from the register to grab one more item and then returning to the line.  I assumed he might have been with the woman ahead of me, so I politely asked, "Are you with that woman?"  I try to be a good Samaritan; I didn't want to keep the two from being able to finish their shopping together.
   "What?"  he asked.
   I repeated, "Are you with that woman?" and I inclined my head toward the lady ahead of me.
   He said something unintelligible, so I asked him what he said.  He leaned closer to me and whispered, "That's a man."  I jerked my head around, and sure enough.  The "lady" ahead of me had a nice growth of beard and the distinct features from the front view of the face of a rugged cowboy.  The cashier tried to stifle her reaction, my eyes got wide, and the man behind me tried to not to choke to death with suppressed laughter.  When the pony-tailed customer finally left the store, we all dissolved into relieved laughter, and I elbowed the man behind me and told him I needed to put my glasses on! 
   So how was your weekend?