Good Deed Gone Wrong
Stupid things I do May 31st, 2012
So I’m walking to my car after grocery shopping and notice a woman parked next to my car.
She’s leaning into the driver’s side, with her empty cart positioned behind her.
I decide to give her a moment to load up her car and then wheel her cart back to the cart corral and then I can leave.
Except she doesn’t.
I wait longer than I should have to, peeved that she’s not walking her cart back to the cart zone and lady, just what are you doing?
It’s then I see her walk her cart to the back of her car and try a few times to make it stop rolling, so it’ll sit still there.
Again lady, what are you doing? If you think you’re just going to leave it there and pull away, you’re the laziest person on the planet because the cart corral is just two car spaces over.
My God, lady, are you really gonna leave that cart there and drive away?!
I see her lean into her car again and I’m getting more and more annoyed because she’s lazy and she’s not leaving the area so I can pull out without squashing her.
I decide to wait no more, back my car out of my space, and then pull over just in front of the cart that she’s too lazy to put away.
I put my car in park, mumble to myself Holy hell, she’s lazy and get out. I grab the cart, deciding that if this lady is going to be such a bad grocery store citizen, someone should put the cart back where it belongs.
And that someone will be me!
Hurray for good citizens!
Except.
Except as soon as I started wheeling it back to the corral, she said “Oh, I need that. I was just holding it there because I forgot something in my car.”
Oh.
Never mind.
It took me a while when I got home to scrape all that egg off my face.
Stumble it!
May 31st, 2012 at 1:38 pm
You shouldn’t be ashamed or anything because you’re living proof that no good deed goes unpunished. You’re a testament to us all!
D. Duplessis´s last blog post ..Attention Dog Owners, I’m Probably Gonna Piss Ya Off…
May 31st, 2012 at 2:01 pm
It’s her fault, though. Unless you’re in the middle of a severe cart drought, there was no reason for her to take her empty cart to her car. She should have left it where she originally picked it up and then taken a new cart when she went back to the store.
Laura´s last blog post ..The Eagle Has Landed
May 31st, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Ah, but see, that’s when you could have berated her for being forgetful in the middle of a busy parking lot.
Of course, if she had dementia or had suffered a recent concussion, then you’re sort of back at square one, eggy face-wise.
But if she’s that addled, you could probably convince you you were bringing the cart TO her. Everybody wins!
Charlie´s last blog post ..Eek!Cards #22: If the Gown’s a-Rockin’, Don’t Come a-Mockin’
May 31st, 2012 at 7:05 pm
Well, she deserved it. I mean, what was she doing? And why does it take so darn long to get out of your car and go into the store? And vice versa?
Criminy. People need to get INTO their cars (or get OUT of them) and keep moving. What’s with all the wacky stuff in the parking lot?!
😉
May 31st, 2012 at 7:19 pm
I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt–it keeps me happier and less critical of others. I do see carts abandoned in the Giant Eagle lot often and that does get me that some people are so lazy.
Karen and Gerard´s last blog post .."One Shot at Forever" by Chris Ballard
May 31st, 2012 at 11:41 pm
Eeek! Oh how awful.
You should have squashed her when you had the chance. How dare she egg your face like that. 😉
Margaret (Nanny Goats)´s last blog post ..The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Incident
June 1st, 2012 at 1:03 am
Never mind the good thought was there.
Beverley´s last blog post ..weigh in
June 1st, 2012 at 5:15 am
Well, why was she being such a slowpoke anyway?
Daisy the Curly Cat´s last blog post ..A Suit For A Sunny Day
June 1st, 2012 at 7:33 am
Unfortunately, we do mostly make judgements about others. I would be just the same, though not confident enough to have got out and moved it. I’d have waited and moaned instead.
Babs´s last blog post ..My Aerobics Video
June 1st, 2012 at 9:49 am
OMG, Kathy, I’m laughing my ass off at this because this is exactly how I would have been too. In fact, when I had a car and drove, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve reacted the same way to people doing stupid and lazy stuff with their carts in a grocery store parking lot. OMG…it would piss me off to no end.
As Babs shared, I think we all make initial judgments about others. I know I do.
But hey, it makes for great blog fodder though!
Can’t WAIT to see you today. I’m sooooo excited!
X
Ron´s last blog post ..Old Versus New
June 1st, 2012 at 11:17 am
Silly woman needed to move her butt and DO SOMETHING. Why just stand there with the cart looking impaired? Gah!
Linda Medrano´s last blog post ..Fried Cheese Balls
June 1st, 2012 at 12:20 pm
99% of the population does not return their carts even if they are parked NEXT to the cart return. So I understand your confusion
Pricilla – Famous SpokesGoat´s last blog post ..Farm Cat Friday – A Look Back
June 1st, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Doh!
At least she didn’t scream at you. And, your thoughts were in the right place! 😉
P.J.´s last blog post ..Foto Friday/30 Days of Writing: Cheese (1/30)
June 1st, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I never park in shopping center carparks. There’s too much impromptu panel-beating going on, what with errant shopping carts trundling wildly about the place, and kids sweeping doors open into cars parked too close to theirs.
Brady Partridge´s last blog post ..Go, Argoman! Go!
June 2nd, 2012 at 7:23 am
Oh I HATE when stuff like that happens! *embarrassing!* You didn’t do anything wrong – it was “just one of those moments.” The Cart Corral. CLASSIC!
Katherine´s last blog post ..A Roadblock
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:21 am
My wife does this all the time. I know she is not stupid. I call it “jumping to conclusions.” It is a necessary ingredient for the egg-on-your face recipe.
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:24 am
Uh, well, you see…I have an “I don’t give a f@ck” attitude when it comes to other people, precisely for this reason. So I get a lot of mileage for just being blunt and polite. I would have immediately rolled down my window and asked her kindly to move her cart so I could leave. I never judge what weird shit people do because most people do weird, stupid shit so I am used to it. Besides, my mom uses a cart even when she only buys one item. It keeps her upright.
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:29 am
I would have immediately rolled down my window and asked her kindly to move her cart so I could leave. Thanks that you’ve shared.
Barry´s last blog post ..Spring Allergies Symptoms
June 2nd, 2012 at 9:31 am
Oh, yeah…..and there are people who get paid to go get the carts and bring them back to the store, whether they be in the corral or the parking lot. Who am I to take away an opportunity for a willing *ahem* teenager such as that? And when it comes to doing good deeds and taking up the slack for someone else I have learned the hard way, and that is, “You can’t hug every cat!”
June 2nd, 2012 at 3:37 pm
D. Duplessis — But I learned my lesson. Next time, I’m going to pay attention and make sure I can actually solve a problem first. Hee.
Laura — You know, you’re right! I didn’t think of that. It actually makes no sense that she had one with her already. The corral was closer to the store, not her car. I don’t get that lady AT ALL.
Charlie — See, but I’m not that quick-thinking on my feet. What I might have said was “Oh, I was just bringing it back to you because I thought it would roll away.” But that takes brains, and if you’ve read anything in this blog, you know I’m lacking in that area.
lin — Yeah, there’s a certain kind of grocery store parking lot protocol and it just felt like she violated all of them. Gee, I sure hope she learned her lesson. Hee.
Karen — I think she was just the unfortunate 100th person I was tired of giving the benefit of the doubt to. But it turns out I was the loser in this case!
Margaret — I’m still thinking about how kind you were to buy that girl food at the Taco Bell. I mentioned your post to Val and Meleah yesterday as we walked past the drive thru window on the way to the restrooms inside a McD’s. I suggested the girl just do a “walk up” and buy her own food, but Val said “It’s called DRIVE-thru for a reason.” Har. I guess she was right.
Beverley — At least I walked away with that.
Daisy the Curly Cat — Slowpokes make me crabilated!
Babs — I was sort of surprised that I had the guts to park my car in the middle of a lane and get out and move it back. But I was just so incensed that (I thought) she was going to just leave it there! Something came over me. I paid for it in my embarrassment, didn’t I?
Ron — Oh, dear wonderful Ron. I’m still on a high that I met you in person yesterday! I still can’t believe we were lucky enough to get all four of us together. It was meant to be! As for the cart, like I said to Babs, I was surprised I took action on what I thought was a serious cart infraction. Don’t think I’ll be doing that again any time soon!
Linda Medrano — And could she see me mentally drilling holes through the back of her head? The problem is that slow (and stupid) people don’t know they’re being slow (and stupid).
Pricilla — And I’ll never understand that. And I love when they take a lot of time to “steady” the cart so it doesn’t roll away. You know what would keep it from rolling? PUTTING IT BACK IN THE CART THINGY!
P.J. — D’oh indeed!
Brady Partridge — You know, I hate everything about grocery shopping. So much so that I must have at least a dozen posts on this blog about crappy experiences I’ve had shopping. I really would just love to have everything delivered to my doorstep and not have to interact with other grocery shopping people.
Katherine — I swear, I’m never trying that again. I’m just going to let everyone do their stupid things and ignore it. Of course, I will help little old ladies across traffic. You can’t go wrong with that, can you?
Dane Zeller — The biggest ingredient! But I totally learned my lesson. Look the other way and keep moving!
Susan — Oh, but you sound so brave. I’m not the brave type. But I guess you could say I’m the slightly passive-aggressive, seriously annoyed type. I should probably take a cue from you. I’d wind up in less trouble, I think.
Susan #2 — You’re right! But when I thought she was leaving it out in a travel lane, I thought you gotta be kidding me, lady. If she’d wedged it between cars, I would have only hated her a little. Hee.
June 3rd, 2012 at 8:34 am
Ok, Kathy… here you go (lol). http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4 This is my euphamism for not being able to help everybody. Hahaha! It’s a good one to remember!
June 3rd, 2012 at 11:08 am
That really is a ridiculous moment. People really have different views on what’s happening. What’s the lesson you learnt here?
-Meghan
Meghan´s last blog post ..http://www.seductionfaq.com/blog/female-psychology/
June 4th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
To your credit, everyone else on the planet who did that was going to leave their cart there. At least you didn’t flip her off when you did it! 🙂
Nora Blithe´s last blog post ..A Novel Idea, Sorry for the Pun
June 4th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
Kathy, you crack me up. And this story is even funnier when you told it in person!
meleah rebeccah´s last blog post ..Philadelphia Blogger Meet Up – 2012
June 6th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
That was really hilarious! I could almost picture out your face in that moment. Is there anyone else around there? Thanks for sharing!
-Wallace
Wallace´s last blog post ..female psychology
June 7th, 2012 at 7:29 am
This is one of those, “you never know” moments that I too often have. Then I think, long after I have passed judgment, who knows, maybe the idiot in question just had a loved one pass away or lost their job and are thus justly destracted…
Emergefit´s last blog post ..The Collapse…