Bodies & Faces

Have you ever sat in a parked car at a large grocery store? Say a Target big box store? I have, in fact, weekly. That is our grocery shopping schedule and I sit in the car while Rocky goes in for his reminiscence of long ago years. He was raised in his mom and pop’s grocery store and worked there for many years. To this day he loves fingering packaged goods and reading their labels. He observes where products are placed and the logic behind that placement. He contemplates brands and evolution of new products.

Yes, Rocky really likes grocery stores. These days he uses an electric cart, fills it in over an hour or so, moving slowly throughout the store. At check out, the staff know him. Bag boys compete to accompany him out to the car and unload his cart. I understand that part of the trip, but I still don’t see how Rocky gets the best part of his week by tottering into a grocery store. I often feel guilty just sitting in the car.

While there, I read or nap. But mainly I watch.

The types of shoppers are of stunning array. The basics:

·         Shapes. Countenance.  Gait.  Zest.  Age.

Shapes are first on the list because few shoppers are fit and slim. Most are awkwardly pudgy if not downright obese.

Countenance is the look set on the shopper’s face. Scowls are quite popular. Frowns and calculators are not frequent but the vacant are. The scowlers interest me. What is it they are scowling about? What makes this trip to the store such a negative prospect? Or does it have anything to do with the store?

Gait covers the gamut from striders, limpers, disabled with canes, walkers and wheelchairs, as well as the casual walker with relaxed speed and body language.

Zest or lack thereof refers to the attitude and energy invested in the task at hand. Many rush right in anxious to get the job done and over with. Others hang back and seem to wince at their future activity. Again, there are those burdened with young kids who add to the harried expression of the mom. Dad’s usually drag kids by the hand or carry the young into the store. It is an outing, an adventure, and dads seem to go with that demeanor. Moms, no. Happy is not the order of her day.

Age of course is appropriate to the town’s demographics. Fifteen percent or more of the shoppers are normally over 65. Many, the majority, are 30 to 50. Children constitute an unwilling presence of 10 percent. Age also involves the other traits listed, most often the gait, followed by the lack of zest. This is an unhappy task that figures prominently in the elder’s use of energy. Getting to and from the car is one big obstacle. Making it through the aisles and reaching desired products is only attempted once the label is read and understood. The print is so small and the colors add to the difficulty of reading. Hauling the goods in the basket is another physical fitness challenge. Standing in line is another. Returning to the car and transferring purchases from cart to car makes an interesting watch.

I am left with these primary observations from my most recent undercover assignment:

1.       Americans are decidedly overweight

2.       Grocery shopping may be the most hated chore known to man or woman

3.       Physical fitness is very much on the decline

Perhaps the magnet of the grocery store should be on proper food selection for dietary reasons? Ah well, that is a conclusion surmised by many for a very long time. Perhaps we should harken to it?

January 4, 2023

 

 

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