Just Do It!

I don't know if you have Giant grocery stores in your area. We have them here in the Washington, DC region and they have a partnership with Shell Gas whereby you earn points that drop the per gallon price of your petrol purchases. Generally, for every $100 you spend you earn a .10¢ discount, and these discounts accrue to a possible total of $1.10 off a gallon.

So today after walking with Romeo, I set out to shop at Giant with a purpose. I had a coupon that would get me .40¢ additional off each gallon if I purchased $75 worth of groceries. And it was a task complicated a bit by the fact that I actually have TWO such coupons. My plan for today was to buy more perishable items and just skirt the $75 limit, and then go back later to stock up on paper supplies, laundry detergent, stuff like that. As I shopped I kept a running total in my head, but, of course, some where between $37 and $53 dollars worth of stuff I got confused. When I thought I was pretty close to my goal I went to the check out with the contingency plan that I would just buy some gum or another cloth shopping bag or something if I fell short of the $75 mark.

The line I chose only had one other customer in it, a young African American family. Mom was short and had a very sweet smile, dad was tall with a shy demeanor and dreadlocks, and between them was a little girl, their daughter, who seemed somewhat fascinated with me. I noticed that they were using WIC vouchers to make their purchases. People buying food with food stamps is not an unusual sight around here. (Ironically, I never noticed anyone do this when I lived in Kentucky--so much for stereotypes!) Most of the time you see them used for the purchasing of milk, bread, cereal and maybe juice. I know the program limits the sorts of things you can buy. This couple had the milk and bread, but also eggs and then a lot of vegetables and fruit. I've never seen anyone buy fresh produce with WIC vouchers before.

As the cashier rang up each item, she would wait to make sure it was approved: Swipe and YES for--carrots, cabbage, lettuce, avocado, apples, grapes, and even a mango. But when she swiped the potatoes--EEHH, nope, potatoes not approved. "What?" I thought, "You can get a fucking avocado, but you can't but a little bag of potatoes?!" Without really thinking about it, I said to the young man, "Sir, excuse me."

He looked at me and inquired, "Yes?"

"Can I pay for your potatoes?"

A little startled, he asked, "What?"

I repeated myself, "Please, let me pay for your potatoes."

He and he wife smiled and he said, "Thank you. God bless you."

Now, this is the one time when I would not challenge the existence of God. In a place where he had nothing to offer even my meager act of generosity, he was still able to give me what to him was precious. And to be honest, I felt blessed. Not by god, but by the fact that I could help them, and that I had been helped in so many ways by others in the past that I knew the value of passing it on, even in a little way.

My bill came to $77.83. I realized later that it was those damned potatoes that put me over the $75.00 threshold. I'm certain that the savings I will receive the next time I fill my tank will more than cover the cost of that little bag of potatoes.