The other day I went to the grocery store just to pick up a few things. I expected to be in and out, no fuss no muss. Certainly, no aggravation.
I guess this night of the week at the store was set aside for parents to bring their unruly, unattended children. Because they were EVERYwhere.
My first stop was the deli. I put in my order and as I was waiting a couple with a baby and toddler came up and placed their order. The father strategically placed his shopping cart right next to the take-a-number ticket dispenser. The child who was seated in the cart pressed the button, took a ticket and handed it to her father - like 20 or 30 times. And, if he didn't take the ticket from her chubby little fist quickly enough she let loose a screech with enough decibels to make anyone nearby eardrums bleed. The other child who was toddling around outside of the cart kept wandering off, grabbing stuff and handing it to the mother, who promptly set whatever it was down in the bread rack in front of her.
They walk away leaving a minor disaster in their wake. The deli guy calls the next number. Silence. Calls the number again. Silence. There's a line of people waiting but no takers. Then he calls another number, then another and another. You get the point.
Disgusted, I went to on to finish my shopping whilst dabbing the dribbles of blood from my ear. As I approached the self check-out line and there's a youngish mom who's checking out her order with a 3 or 4 year old boy behind her. As I pass by them, the kid somehow managed to knock over a display rack spilling it's contents across the aisle. The mother turns to see what happened, grabs him by the wrist and pulls him to her side. If you think she made even the slightest effort to pick any of that stuff up you'd be wrong. She just went back to ringing up her groceries. Of course, the child was screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time.
I bagged my stuff and went over to the ATM to deposit a check. And somewhere no too far away a chorus of disgruntled children began a symphony screams, cries and shrieks. This was as good a time as any to make like Bo Peep and get the flock out of there.
I left the store and headed to my car. There is a mother in front of me with her cart stuff with groceries and two little ones trailing slowly behind. They're holding up traffic because she and her entourage are walking at a long diagonal across the lane to their car.
I made it to my car and home. Somehow I managed to keep my head from exploding and I suffered only minor blood loss.
The one thing that sticks out in my mind is that not one of those parents had any consideration for anyone else - they let their kids do whatever they wanted, wreaking whatever havoc, and didn't do a flippin' thing to keep their kids in check.
WTF is wrong with people??
And when these kids grow up, they will be allowed to vote.
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