As you can see in this Twitter conversation from last week with my blogging friend, Jack, I normally avoid Costco this time of year.
Should I hit Costco today or get a colonoscopy. #decisions
— TheJackB (@TheJackB) December 19, 2010
@thejackb I have a strict no Costco policy until everyone is finished with their returns. So like mid-February.But we’re out of wipes!
— Nina Badzin (@NinaBadzin) December 19, 2010
Then with no warning my homemaking/gathering instincts trumped my better judgment. In other words, our need for wipes, hummus, string cheese, and a bargain price on my favorite drug–I mean favorite gum–caused me to break my usual rule.
I only needed a few things, I thought. How bad could it be?
Well . . . if you’ve been to the belly of the beast known as the refrigerated section of Costco on a regular day, then you can only imagine the mayhem there three days before Christmas.
But the sheer volume of the crowd wasn’t the inspiration for this post. This was: A young woman, perhaps around 20, stood in the middle of that disaster and made a bad situation worse by TEXTING instead of pushing her cart.
Incredulous and determined to score a nearby sample of Irish Dubliner cheese, I tapped her on the shoulder. “Excuse me,” I said in my most ‘Minnesota-nice‘-meets-North-Shore-Chicago-chutzpah voice, “You really can’t text at Costco this close to Christmas.” (Apparently, my defense of Christmas knows no bounds.)
“Whatever,” she said without looking up. Yes, the girl “whatevered” me. What’s worse, she didn’t move. She didn’t care about the bottleneck she’d created all around her. She simply continued to text. I imagined OMGs followed by many xoxoxos. And I wanted to cause her physical harm.
But then, instead of getting mad, I started to cry.
I have to tell you, I don’t cry often. I cried maybe two other times this year and one of them was caused by the scene in Finding Nemo when [spoiler alert] Nemo’s father finds him. But there I was tearing up in the middle of Costco, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. The girl didn’t even notice–no surprise there.
I managed to pull it together and find the rest of the items on my list and then some. HOWEVER, I’m still thinking about the incident hours later. I honestly don’t know why I got so upset. Lord knows I dig my Blackberry as much as the next person, but there was something so thoughtless and unaware going on in that young woman’s mind.
Is this what we have to look forward to from here on out? Everyone staring at their phones instead of getting on with what they should be doing in that moment (driving, making eye contact, pushing the damn cart)!?
Do we need some sort of societal “stay in the moment” revolution? Or do I just someone to slip me a Xanax before I dare go out in public again?
Proof I made it out alive
Nina (@NinaBadzin)
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Welcome! I am a freelance writer living in Minneapolis with my husband and four children. My essays on parenting, social media etiquette, improving my habits, Jewish life and more have appeared in the Huffington Post, Brain, Child Magazine, The Jewish Daily Forward, Kveller and elsewhere. I'm glad you found your way here!
OMG! I wish I would have been there with you. I would have made you blow your nose on the back of that girl’s knock off designer blouse.
x0x0x0
And I believe that, Anne!!! I do!
Whatever? At least she didn’t say HUH?
These are the reminders we need to keep our smart phones in our pockets and our hands on the mega shopping carts.
Thanks for the reminder. No tear goes unrewarded, Nina!
Cotstco during the holidays-have I taught you nothing??? Maybe those tears were caused by you realizing Costco is not that cheap.
So true. Anyone who leave there spending less than $100 is my personal hero. I almost put a big thing of pine nuts in my cart until I realized it was $23.
If people ignore me at stores like Costco I help them shop. Keep your head down and I’ll casually add items to your cart.
Stop texting or enjoy 5 pounds of Limburger cheese, a tub of lard and assorted goodies.
AMY: I like that! “No tears go unrewarded.”
JACK: That’s genius. I’m sure you’re kidding, but we should really do that.
Not kidding. Did it at Marshall Fields too. Of course that was after I told everyone you couldn’t find a good steak or pizza in Chicago. I am a happy troublemaker.
This is a hard time of year for everyone. So don’t worry about the tears. As for the inconsiderate young woman-guess you couldn’t give her the “look”-you know the one I used to give you and your sisters-if she didn’t even glance up. You were probably too polite. Next time just skip the part about not texting-and tell her she needs to move aside…And you need to say it in a nice loud voice. Desperate situations call for desperate actions. If this occurs again-forget about Minnesota nice. Remember your Chicago roots! Love, Mom
MOM: Your comments are always gold. Start thinking of guest posts because I think you’re becoming a popular “character” on the blog!
“WhatEVER?” That is what she said? To a complete stranger?
This does not bode well….
I hate to sound like an old lady, but what is with kids today? I am constantly amazed by the teenagers who simply cross the street in front of cars at lunchtime. Hello?
I have a two ton metal hunk of car and you have a 100+ pound of flesh and bones. I’m gonna win every time. But it’s not worth going to jail over.
ExCUSE ME — GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Oh yeah, Merry Christmas.
I totally hear you! Several years ago, my father was stopped, with his turn signal on waiting to make a left turn when he was rear-ended at full speed by a texting 20-something. His car slammed into a tree and was totaled, but thanks to God, airbags and seat belts, he walked away without a scratch. When she got out of the car, all the driver could say was OMG, OMG, OMG.
Yes, it is time for a “stay in the moment” revolution!
FRUME SARAH and CARDIOGIRL: I know. Kids today! BUT, it’s not just kids. That’s the problem!!
JANE: That’s terrible. Thank God he’s ok. How scary!
Nina, your Mom rocks. I was just thinking in my head that if this girl’s mother knew how rude she was she would probably have thought twice about being rude. I am also a product of “The Look” and have mastered it pretty well myself.
I am putting in the first vote to have Kathy as a guest poster.
Oh Nina, I’ve been all sorts of teary these days, too! Such emotional Jews near Christmas, right? Stay away from Costco today, mmkay? And maybe Chuck E. Cheese and the mall, too! Hang in there, Mama, next time you’ll totally pull out some chutzpah instead!
I don’t even think I could handle using a phone in a supermarket – even with the safety of my shopping cart in front of me the mass of people on a normal weekend is enough to scare me.
I’m glad you survived the ordeal, if it were me I’d still be clutching my cart or hiding under one of the shelves!
JEN: On behalf of my mom, thank you!!!
GALIT: Yes! So emotional for some reason. At least three people asked if I’m pregnant after reading this post. I’m really not! Just a basket case.
JASON: Welcome to the blog! I think this is your first time commenting?? I like the image of hiding under one of the shelves.
Whatever? <—–OMG.
And the tears are also because this time of year is just CRAZY. Hang in there mama!!
My son’s 1st grade Sunday school class led Shabbat services a month or so ago. Instead of kibbitzing before hand, many people held their gaze strictly on the smart phone in their laps.
Honestly, Nina, I’m a tad disappointed. Judging by the title of this post, I was half expecting that once the girl said, “Whatever” without so much as looking up, that you’d enter some sort of raging state and start throwing all nearby Kirkland Signatures products and samples at her.
And getting in the way of samples is an absolute no-no.