The woman looked up to the heavens, and with her arms widespread she shouted, “I can’t find anything!”
A dozen or so nearby grocery shoppers stopped in their tracks, startled by her outburst, but none looked surprised.
Nearly everybody was feeling the same way.
This past weekend, I was caught in the chaos at our local HEB grocery store.
A supervisor told me they were changing the HEB store in advance of the company’s construction of another HEB in New Braunfels.
Entire aisles of groceries were relocated. Previously, the aisles were the same direction throughout the store, which facilitated a logical progression through the store.
On this particular Sunday afternoon, HEB had placed aisles crossways in the middle of store. This customer-frustrating strategy caused a cart jam that was something to behold.
In years past, when all four children lived at home, we found our way to Albertson’s or HEB several times a week.
But now, with fewer to feed, the grocery list is much shorter and we buy groceries less often.
For the sake of marital harmony, I should admit that I almost never do the weekly grocery shopping now and when I must, I usually go to Albertson’s, which is just down the street from the Herald-Zeitung offices.
But that’s why I was in the HEB store Sunday afternoon.
The day before, on Saturday, returning from an errand in San Antonio, Patty and I decided to stop at the HEB on Walnut Street.
After about 15 minutes of pushing our cart in what felt like a maze in which we could not find what we wanted, she turned to me: “I can’t do this. Not today. Let’s go home.”
We went home.
Since I had become an infrequent HEB shopper, I volunteered to go back the next afternoon.
I normally have to ask directions once or twice anyway, so it would be less frustrating for me, or so I thought.
When I returned, I could tell that the general mood in the store was less than cheery. Grumpy might be a better word. Some shoppers appeared on the verge of anger.
Shoppers were shouting out questions like: “Where’s the bread?”
Another shopper would answer and point the way.
HEB had employees standing, directing cart traffic and giving directions. These folks got an earful.
A father of a young family (I could tell by the groceries in his cart) looked at me and said with a smile: “I don’t usually do the shopping so I didn’t know where anything was anyway. Some of these people are really upset.”
“What would this be like if there were a food shortage?” I said, a comment that made us both look at the other shoppers anew.
Now the scene did not seem so humorous to ponder.
If people were this upset because the food items had been moved, how would they behave if little or no food were available?
Do you ever think about there not being enough food?
We are blessed to live in a country where we do not worry about whether food will be available when we need it. Those well-stocked shelves are a daily miracle and we take it for granted.
As I left the store, I stopped briefly to watch the people grabbing carts to shop.
Did they know what was ahead for them?
And I wondered whether their frustrations would lead them to the realization that we are among the most fortunate people in the world.
