I suppose it’s simply ‘in my blood,’ this GROCER thing. But I come by it honestly. It’s actually something rather difficult to ignore, as I was practically born, bred, and raised in the grocery business. It was almost the same for my Dad.
Dad’s first and only other job in his entire work-history was a short tour of duty working in the Dairy at Mississippi State College in the early 1930s. And then he moved to the ‘big city’ of Jackson and found work as a stock-boy for the then new Jitney-Jungle.
I’ll skip forward to 1951. I was in the 5th at George Elementary on the corner of Winter and Gallatin. Dad had been the successful manager of Jitney #2 next to George, so when the new Jitney #19 was built and opened in Mart 51 at Terry Road and Highway 80, he was made manager of this new store. Dad hired me to ‘help out’ after school Thursday and Friday afternoons and the weekends.
I work there at Jitney #19 until I started my Freshman year at Mississippi Stare in the Fall of 1959. You see, the grocery business is in my blood.
But I wasn’t finished with the grocery business! In the Fall of 1967 I was called back into the grocery business when Jitney Jungle decided to form it’s own in-house ad agency and print shop. This time as full-time… until the very senseless end of Jitney-Jungle in 2001.
I said all that to say this… This very morning Carol sent me to Kroger for a few grocery items. I found a spot to part right near the front of the store. Great! The store was crowded, even for a Friday morning.
When I returned to my vehicle after shopping, I noticed that the nearby rack of returned grocery carts was completely overloaded with returned carts… most of which had be hurriedly and carelessly dropped off in willie-millie fashion! Empty carts spilled over into the adjoining parking spaces! My ‘grocer in the blood’ kicked in. It simply overpowered me. I couldn’t help myself. It was like it was 1951 all over again and Bill had his grocery cart responsibility again!
Yes, I did! After I’d packed my vehicle with my purchases, I took my empty card over to this fine MESS… and quickly and efficiently did my work, in the true spirit of a good grocery company individual. It didn’t take me long, perhaps 2 minutes at most, but it sure made me feel good about doing it! I’m sure there must have been another customer within sight, scratching their head and wondering, ‘Why is HE doing that?’
Why? Because it’s in my blood. I can’t help it. I’m retired now, and I miss doing ‘grocery stuff.’ Besides, those 5th grade years were among the happiest of my young life, and it was a barrel of fun this morning, an 80+ year old man, back again doing ‘fun’ 5th grade work! It make me realize that I’ve still ‘got it!’
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Pen In Hand 