THE INCONVENIENT SHOPPING CART

Dad – when are you going to write an original post for your blog? This question came to me not long ago from one of my daughters.

Well, here goes:

I sat in my car caring for my grand daughter who was secured in her car seat while my wife and daughter went into the local Target for some needed items. As I patiently waited for them I observed a mini van began to drive in to a parking space. In the front of the space however, was a shopping cart had been left and blocked the driver from parking in that space. The driver slowly entered the space, bumping the cart so slightly. The driver parked, exited the vehicle, looked around to see if anyone was watching and pushed the shopping cart into the open parking space beside her. The shopping cart or what we call in the south – the shopping “buggy” – rested in its new home in the parking space. A few moments passed and then another vehicle saw the apparent empty parking space and began to quickly move their vehicle toward the space. When the driver saw the shopping cart blocking the space they quickly turned the wheel of their vehicle and parked in the space on the far side of the space occupied by the shopping cart. The father and his young son departed the vehicle and walked directly past the shopping cart that was so close they could have touched it.

Within moments a young woman, driving a small sports vehicle quickly came around the corner and drove into the space occupied by the inconvenient shopping cart. She gave the shopping cart a bump and then parked her vehicle. She exited the vehicle and just as a the driver a short time earlier, she looked around to see if any was watching as she pushed the cart in front of the vehicle recently vacated by the father and his son, and with slight effort, she pushed the cart forward until it came to rest three spaces away when it hit a parked car. She gasp as it hit the car and quickly but quickly got back in her automobile to straighten it into the space that had been partially blocked by the shopping cart. She exited her car carrying a small bag and with a cell phone by her ear.

The thing I was amazed at was – did no one see the Cart Return located only 5 yards away on the other side of the isle?

For the first driver the lesson of being considerate of others was lost. The second driver missed the lesson of teaching our child by example to consider others. And the third driver missed the lesson of controlling our personal and selfish desires to extend simple courtesy to others.

I could not help but wonder – What lessons am I missing today?

And yes – when my wife and daughter returned I did return the shopping cart to the return area just a few steps away.