A reader (Terry) brought an interesting phenomenon to my attention. \u201cIf you want to know how someone drives, watch how they push a grocery cart.\u201d They ram into other carts, don\u2019t slow down for intersections and, heaven forbid, if you get in their way of getting to the last package of their favorite cookies you just might feel their cart ram into the back of your legs. <\/p>\n
I did some research on my own. This is what I observed about grocery store manners that end up on the highway. A \u201cwide walker\u201d set my pace. He moseyed along in front of me. He wasn\u2019t wide, but his walking style was. When he stepped with his right foot he went way to the right and then did the same when he stepped with his left. It was like walking behind a waddling duck. And that’s another thing, what is it with people who insist on walking side by side? They clog up progress down the aisle more than anything.<\/p>\n
If it isn’t a wide walker then it’s a “weaver” who hinders my progress. You know the type; they push their cart along in a coma like state. When you try to pass on the left, they weave in front of you. If you go to the right, they beat you to the open lane. It’s why I think the carts should be equipped with a horn. <\/p>\n
If the stores were required to have the carts “inspected” by an authorized mechanic every year it would solve another of my shopping cart problems, getting one with a bent wheel, the kind that won’t go in a straight line. It constantly goes at an erratic angle so that you have to jerk it back into the \u201cdriving\u201d lane. I hate it; it makes people think I’m a “weaver” – they yell and throw things at me as I wind my way through the store. If there were horns on the carts they could just toot and I’d let them pass.<\/p>\n