The Complimentary Panhandler

Today my mom and I ran some much needed errands. I was very proud of her as she chose to go out without her walker today. Since her fall in March when she fractured her pelvis, she had become quite dependant on first a wheelchair and then a walker.

We went to Target and she pushed the shopping cart in lieu of having her walker. I did weigh it down a bit with boxes of cat litter and it finally did get too heavy for her. I then took over the cart and she held her own beautifully.

We left Target and went to Petco for cat food. We had the pleasure of meeting two little adorable brother and sister Pomeranian puppies! They were so precious and active and just loved the all the attention my mom and I showered them with.

While wrapping up our shopping trip and climbing back in the car to go home, a panhandler approached and asked if I had any change to spare. He was very polite in his approach. I told him, "sorry I don't have any cash on me". He "blessed" me and complimented my hair. Said he loved the "frizzy" look! What?? I use leave-in condition and thought that was under control. LOL.

So, we left the Petco shopping center and drove to the Ralphs by the house. We picked up grocery items needed, but this Ralphs didn't have everything I needed for the dinner I planned to make, but my mom was tired and ready to go home. So, home we went and I unloaded the groceries and purchases with the help of my sister and got my mom settled. Then my sister and I headed out to a different Ralphs to pick up the final groceries needed.

While at the second Ralphs, I ran into a co-worker and we briefly chatted and then my sister and I checked out and then got lottery tickets (duds, I might add). Then, as we were chatting and walking out of the store, two men (a blonde and a brunette) were walking in. The blonde was yelling at a woman behind them and this caught us off guard as we were busy chatting. The guy was yelling, "I'm an American and you're going to call the cops on me! You were talking on your phone while driving and could kill people (or something like that). We don't do that here." The woman, in her thick accent, said, "you're sick", all the while holding her phone to her ear. Then, out of the blue, the blonde guy said with such attitude, "Honey...". Well, I heard that and suddenly lost all other words out of his mouth because I could only think, "oh he must be gay with that tone in his 'honey'!"

This was truly the most interesting shopping experience I've experienced and I only wish I would have caught that encounter in it's early stages and had a phone with video so I could have made a fun short film of it. Oh well, maybe next time.