runlindsayrun

No Good Deed

So I'm in Superstore last night, trying to pick up the ingredients I'll be needing for Baking Day this weekend.

I'm passing by the bulk bins when I hear a cry of dismay, followed by the sound of rain. Well, it wasn't rain. It was hundreds of almonds, thundering to their death on a quasi-polished white tile floor - landing here, there, and on the shoes of an eighty-year-old lady who was frantically trying to stuff her hand into the chute to stop the carnage.

And then, The Moment. The Moment when you realize you have a split-second decision to make: step up and help the old lady, or keep walking and finish up your shopping. I did a quick calculation and realized that I hadn't done my December good deed yet. Darn.

In four fast steps, I was at her side and trying to offer some constructive assistance. 'Ma'am, I think we should try turning it COUNTER-clockwise... Here, I'll turn it slowly and I think we can get this figured out.' She was convinced she was right. She was convinced it was broken. But after a few false starts, the chute was closed and all that was left was for those last few dozen almonds - caught between the stopper and the old lady's hand - to join their comrades on the ground.

In the midst of this little misadventure, I managed to cover both my thighs in flour or some kind of dust from the lower bins, and it didn't brush off - so I finished my shopping looking like some kind of bread factory worker. Not really characteristic.

Just as the adventure ended, a Superstore employee came around the corner (think pimply, gangly, and seventeen years old). He looked at me (covered in flour), looked at the old lady, looked at the bystanders who had gathered to giggle around the giant mountain of shoe-flavoured almonds, and asked, 'Um, maybe I should find a broom?'

Yeah. Maybe.

And you know what? No thank you from the old lady. Sheesh. Good thing I don't have to be nice again until next month.

L

posted by Lindsay @ 12:58 PM