Food Lion

After my first day of work – and field work at that- I decided to go to the grocery store. I was still in my field clothes and thought well, I’m not going to run into anyone I know anyways. Before I had even entered the store I already felt like everyone was staring at me – did they know I wasn’t a local or were they wondering why I was dressed like that? I walked in and tried to separate two carts from the line, but they were stuck for good. A nice man in a self-styled sleeveless shirt said “wait one second little darlin’, they’re stuck together” and promptly pulled them apart.  I’m making friends already!

I’ve learned from many moves to get a membership card to whatever local grocery store you’re going to be frequenting- I have an Ingle’s card from NC, a Stop & Shop card from the Vineyard, and now a Food Lion card from the Eastern Shore. I waited in line at “customer service” to ask the cashier about applying for a card before shopping. She burped audibly and said “woo! I ate some pie, apple pie, and also had some iced tea. I keep getting burps of that mixture!” I nodded and muttered a non-committal ‘oh sure, I hate when that happens’. I asked about the card again and she pointed me towards the machine in the entryway, but hey, new friend number 2!

I went about my shopping with little issue – not very busy in a small town on a Tuesday night. By the time I went to check out I had filled my little cart with more than I had intended and noticed that one of the two open lanes was 12 items or less, so I backed up and went to the other.  While bagging my own groceries in reusable bags (really, the gall of me) the cashier looked at me and said accusingly “you have a little more than 12 items, but I’ll let it pass”. I really don’t think she was kidding at all. I looked up at the sign and saw that she too was 12 items or less – a tough situation when there are a total of 2 check out lines and maybe 6 customers in the whole place. Despite the hold up I caused (no one behind me at all), I made friend #3 - I’m sure of it!

They have probably flagged my newly issued membership card for the safety of all Food Lion customers and employees up and down the peninsula.