I used to think that my grandmother was a bit eccentric, buying twenty cans of coffee or fifteen pounds of bacon when it was on sale. Since I never lived during the great depression I guess I wouldn’t understand. In addition to the depression my grandmother was widowed at a young age with five children. Bargin shopping and stockpiling was a necessity. Recently, I’ve come to understand her a bit better.
Grocery shopping is a necessary task that most people have to do. I wish I could breeze through the aisles grab what I need and be in and out in twenty minutes flat. But at the risk of sounding paranoid, I’ve come to believe that the store signs advertising the price of items are poking fun at us shoppers. I guess I shouldn’t take the signs so personally, but when I am forced to shell out more of my money it is all personal.
Anyone who regularly goes to the grocery store knows that prices have shot up recently. I don’t like it but to some degree I understand it. What I don’t understand is the store pretending that we don’t know that the price has increased. I see signs like “wow”, “low price”, or “sale” and think that whoever is behind those signs must think we are stupid. Are we supposed to be happy that just last week the price of a green pepper was $ .30 cheaper? Do they really think that shoppers don’t notice the increase in price? Perhaps those signs read wow because they could be charging us even more. Maybe I should be happy because next week there will be a new higher price and I should be thankful for the “low” price I am getting now.
I have started paying close attention to the things I buy frequently. As I watched in horror as prices climbed week to week I felt offended and mocked at the store signs telling me this price is really good. After years of being the primary grocery shopper I think I know what price is good and lately very little of what they are peddling fit that category. But maybe those store signs are preparing us for a new reality.
After some thought I have decided that those store signs are teaching me to understand my grandmother’s mentality. I’ve learned to adopt my grandmother’s ways: buy some for today and lot for tomorrow. Now rather than dread those signs I have slowly come to embrace them as little lessons from my grandmother and a generation who really knew what to do with those four tiny words meant, SALE.
