Just got back from Aldi a little bit ago. My favorite grocery store. We first encountered them in Germany and had no idea they existed in the States. They are owned by the same guys who run Trader Joe’s. Also an excellent store, but entirely different. It has discount gourmet stuff.

Anyway, at Aldi, you bring your own bags or buy them there, there are only about 5 aisles, all staples, and it’s hard to spend over $50 a visit. And you get at least 80% of your groceries there. Great produce. The lines are long and they take only cash or debit. The cashiers get to sit on stools, just like they all do in Germany, and, like Germany, you put a coin (quarter) in your cart to get it out and you get it back when you put it back. Oh, and they have weekly specials on cool things. Maybe special food, or furniture, or tools, it’s kind of like Kinder Überraschung Eiers – but that’s another story.

So, PJ and I are at Aldis in the checkout line. PJ is asleep in his Baby Bjorn as usual. It’s about 10:00am or so. They open at 9am, so it was nice and mellow, not a lot of people and only one checkout line. I get in line behind an older man and a younger man. Well, the older man was probably 85 and the younger man was probably 45. The old man only had two items and the younger man had some flowers and maybe some chicken. They had not put a plastic divider between their items on the belt, so the cashier lady (probably about 24 years old, if that) asks, “Are you together?” The old man replies, “Well, we’re close, but we’re not together.” I thought this was very funny. He continued to give her a hard time, which she did not seem to mind. Neither did the younger man, or me and PJ. But the man behind us, also an older man, maybe 70, is getting very impatient. Fidgeting. Finally, he says, and none to gently, “We are all waiting back here.” I wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to help the situation. The older man up front either can’t hear him, or ignores him. But I’m pretty sure if he heard him, he would have ignored him anyway.

It was true, we were all waiting. But this is Aldi. We all know that we may have to wait in line for a long time. What was this man’s problem? He gets more agitated, “Do your visiting someplace else!” Well, poison the whole atmosphere, why don’t you, I thought. I looked back and there was a significant line forming. But the whole hard time given to the cashier can’t have been more than 5 minutes. And then another line opened up.

I thought, now there are two very different old men. I didn’t dilly-dally when she rung me up, but I didn’t hurry either. After all, I had a sleeping baby and I move pretty slowly now. I only have one hand to move the groceries with and I can’t really bend over wearing PJ in the Baby Bjorn. While the cashier was ringing up the bitter old man, I was bagging my groceries at the counter in back. He complained to her about how he had to be in Greensboro. He was in a hurry. Well, if you knew you were in a hurry, go to Harris Teeter for Pete’s sake! This is Aldi. People are generally nice here. Things go slowly and the patrons expect that. But things are of quality and well-priced. Like I said, it’s my favorite grocery store. The bitter old men are rare there. Last week I had a half hour conversation with a WWII vet. Nice old man. Helped me with my groceries!