BAD MILK

Mike and I shopped for groceries at Albertsons last week, and I came home with short-dated milk. I should have known better. However, it was still within its “use by” date on Sunday when I discovered it was not good. Mike was going out, so he offered to return it. That was great, but he came home with milk that was as bad, if not worse, than what he took back.

So, on Monday, Mike and Ken took the dogs and went hunting, and I prepared to return the milk. I packed my purse, congratulating myself that I had everything I would need.

I put the cooler in the car. “What am I missing?” I asked myself. The milk! 

I retrieved the milk from the fridge and put it in the cooler.

“What else don’t I have?” – My grocery list! So I grabbed the list from the kitchen counter.

Still feeling something was missing, I decided it must be my visor, so back into the house I went.

Finally ready, I drove to the store, a distance of approximately five miles. As I prepared to disembark from the car, I realized I didn’t have my purse. It was my purse that I was missing! I was tempted to just drive home and dump the stupid milk, but we would still need milk and a few other items, so there was nothing for it but to drive back home for my purse, which I did. (Mike had bought half-price milk, so there was no way I could simply exchange it for better milk.)

Arriving back at Albertsons, now with my purse, I went first to JoAnn’s. A sign on the door says they will maintain regular hours until further notice. I have loved this little store, conveniently located next to Albertsons, but JoAnn Fabrics is again in bankruptcy – the second time in a year. The cashier told me that they won’t know whether or not they have a buyer for the chain until mid-March, but he admitted that the future for this store doesn’t look good.

This little Bridge Street Shopping Center has been my “go-to” place for 20 years – Albertsons, JoAnn’s, and Dollar Tree. In recent years, I even got my hair cut at a salon there. The hair salon closed the first of January (Boy, do I need a haircut!), and JoAnn Fabrics will probably close, too. Fewer of my needs will be met at this location. Well, I have to admit that I didn’t buy enough at JoAnn’s to keep them in business, but no one person is responsible for their demise. The world is a changing place. KW