Old Ladies
Before I start, let me say that although I will call them ‘old ladies’, not all of them are that old and they come in both sexes. I’m sure you have run into them as much as I have, but it seems to me it never happens to the other guy.
I’m talking about the person ahead of you at the check out counter of the local grocery store, pharmacy, corner store, gas station, etc. You know the one I mean. She stands there for 15 minutes while the person in front of her gets checked out. Then she throws $25 worth of goods on the conveyor belt and waits to see a total on the cash register before she begins to open her purse to fish out the money to pay for it. Instead of giving the cashier $30 for a total charge of $24.93, she has to fish around to find the $0.93 exactly. Then she stands in your way while she bags her groceries while you wait, again, for her to move far enough that you might be able to check your stuff through.
The real fun ones are those who, while paying for gas, decide to buy a lottery ticket. They then have to scratch the ticket right away, hoping for a winner. If they do happen to get one, they trade it in right away for another ticket. Now its them against the lotto corporation though, so they have to take their time and survey all the tickets for 20 minutes before settling on just the right one to pick. By the time they’re done, you could have done a weeks worth of grocery shopping, had a haircut, gone to Timmies for a relaxing coffee and then gone to get your gas.
Why is it that the idea of waiting until the last possible moment to open your purse to pay for something seems to afflict more women than men? If I’m standing in line that long, I have my money out way ahead of time and almost give it to the cashier before he/she finishes ringing my stuff through.
Why is it that these people have to dig deep to find the exact change? It they give a bit more and receive change, is that change not legal currency? Sure a case may be made for having all those loose pennies lying around, but on a rainy Saturday afternoon you can roll them up and take them to the bank to exchange for folding money. A slight pain in the ass, to be sure, but you actually get to talk to a teller instead of using one of those ATM’s.
That’s another story all in itself.
