I have put it off long enough.

I hate to be one to gripe, but this is too much. It’s that time again. You know, the time when you get hungry for a snack, go to the pantry and can’t find anything you want. There are no potato chips, crackers or even nuts to be had. Cereal for a snack just won’t work, especially since I had eaten a bowl full for breakfast. I was perturbed.



My next option was to eat something healthy as a snack. I looked in the big bowl on the kitchen table and found it dusty and bare. Not a single piece of fruit remained in the almost always full bowl. My mouth watered for the taste of an apple or banana. I’d settle for an orange or tangerine if we had one. Desperate now.

The refrigerator is another place to find food, right? I opened the door and looked over the shelves. Nothing readily popped out that I wanted, so I began going through the containers of meals from the past. The slices of roast from... well, I can’t remember, appeared almost like modern art with purple and yellow fluorescent designs on them.

The small container of macaroni and cheese would have been acceptable except for the green and gray growth. I spent the next thirty minutes cleaning out the containers and flushing the disposal full. When I went back to the fridge, I opened a fresh box of Arm and Hammer to absorb the odors.

Now that the refrigerator was empty of old leftovers, I began to knot inside. Even the fridge was bare of anything to eat. There had to be something in the freezer, so I hurriedly took a look. Frozen peas, broccoli and ice cubes headed the list. There were also some popsicles, but those were for the kids. I needed substance. Finally, success, there was a squashed box of Eggos. I should say Eggo because there was only one. Coated with a white blanket of ice, the treat would have to do.

I knocked of as much of the ice as I could and then put it into the toaster oven. As it began to heat, I went back to the pantry for the syrup. No such luck. There was a bottle but it held only a teaspoon of syrup, I needed quantity. What is a replacement for maple syrup? I took out the cans of yams, corn, and green beans only to find there was no substitute.

As I tossed the package of two heels of bread, I spotted a jar of peanut butter. It would do so I took it and headed to the toaster. It was smoking and there was a mostly black Eggo inside. I said something bad, but it didn’t change the fact that I had burned the last thing in the house to eat. I burned my fingers as I pulled it out of the oven and then scraped as much char off as I could.

Not bad, I decided as I took the brown and black Eggo and placed it on my plate. I opened the peanut butter jar and saw it was almost empty. It took a teaspoon to scrape the sides and bottom of the jar to get the last bites. I tossed the jar in the trash and realized the container was full. I filled a small glass with milk and added the quart container to the trash.

As I ate, chewing every bite much longer than was necessary in order to make it seem like I had a big meal, I began compiling my shopping list. I could not put off a trip to the grocery store any longer. I am an organized kind of guy and have made a list of the usual items we buy at the store each month. I have the list laid out to follow the flow of the store.



I took the printed sheet and began checking the items to purchase. Cokes and Sprite were first because they were located in the very back of the store. I like to push the empty basket to the back and load on my way to the front. Next were bottled water, eggs, butter, and milk. Item by item I mentally marched through the store as I marked off the items.
Times have really changed. I remembered going to the store with my mother. The grocery store was half the size of the big stores today. We would shop for Kellogg’s, Folgers, Tide, Coke, and Del Monte canned goods. They still have these brands, but now there are several more to choose from. The big one is the store brand.

The cereal section is full of names of stuff I’ve never seen before. Fruity this or chocolate that, I’m not sure I would even sample some of the mixtures. We had Cheerio’s, shredded wheat, oat meal and malt-o-meal to choose from.



My granddad had a small neighborhood grocery. It was attached to his house and held the basic items a housewife would need. Granddad ran the meat and produce part of the store while Grandma handled the other. Neighbors would come by and head to the back to visit with Granddad. That is something else; I don’t know anyone at the stores today.

As time moved on and our country became more prosperous, the small family stores closed and the big super stores took their place. I’m not complaining, as I say, but I do miss the intimacy of the old ways. I wouldn’t think of stopping by Wal-Mart just to shoot the bull with an old friend, but in the old days that happened every day.

When I lived in New York City, the streets were lined with specialty stores, one for fruit, and another for cheese or bread. A fish market sold just fish and a meat market sold meats. Neighborhood women would go from store to store to buy for their families. I liked the way everyone haggled and interacted. It had an old world feel to it, but hardly efficient.

Well, now that I have my list made, my stomach is begging for more food so I had better get busy and do my chore. I won’t like the shopping part, but in the end I will be rewarded.

I put key lime pie on my shopping list.

This is a video you will enjoy.