Adventures at Hy Vee

So i went to Hy Vee today to pick up a prescription, and as i was waiting for them to do what they had to do with my new insurance card a strange woman sitting nearby waiting, presumably, on a prescription, struck up a conversation with me.

Stranger : That’s a pretty ring you’ve got.

Me: Oh thank you, i got it in Paris.

Stranger: What is it..?

Me: (showing it to her) It’s a rose.

Stranger: Oh, yeah i’ve got a rose on my ankle. My mom’s name is Rose, my middle name is rose, and i’ve got two girls; [Sarah] Rose and [Jennifer] Rose. We’re all a bunch of roses.

Me: Hm, wow.

I turn back to the counter, assuming the conversation to be over. A minute of silence.

Stranger: I don’t like silver, but that’s a really pretty ring. Is is silver or white gold?

Me: It’s silver, yeah.

Silence again. I converse with the pharmacist for a minute and continue waiting.

Stranger: Is it raining out there? It wasn’t raining when i came in but it’s looking really dark. Doesn’t it look dark out there?

Me: No, it’s not raining. Just threatening. Yeah it does look dark out there.

The pharmacist asks if i’d like to pay for my groceries there. I say yes, she bags my apples, apple cider, cereal and milk.

Stranger: Oh my kids love that stuff.

Me: What… the cereal?

Stranger: Naw the… cedar.

I nod. I ask the pharmacist whether i can get a roll of quarters if i get cash back when i pay. She’s not sure, has to check with a higher-up.

Stranger: Yeah, you can. I’ve done it before.

By now it’s been cleared, i’ve swiped my card, hit the appropriate buttons.

Stranger: You just pay with your debit card, and put in your pin number, and when it says cash back you hit ‘yes’–

Me: Yeah i just wasn’t sure whether she had quarters here or not.

Stranger: –And then they give you quarters. You just weren’t sure if she had quarters..?

The transaction ends. I say “Have a nice day” and smile at the woman as i leave, figuring the poor thing probably gets the cold shoulder on a regular basis.

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 9:52 pm • life
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  1. Kerstin says:

    October 24th, 2008 at 9:27 am

    She sounds lonely. It’s odd, but I’ve had conversations like that in Hy-Vee too. Just last week, a woman came up to my dad and I and told him he looked just like her son and proceeded to tell us all about him and his military career. And that’s just one example.
    People get strange when they don’t have people to really talk to on a regular basis, I think.

  2. Nina says:

    October 25th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

    I went to HyVee today :-) I went with a little list that would cost me about 30 dollars. Spent 75. sigh. I always do that.

    We also went to New Pioneer (the co-op) to see if they had cheaper pumpkins because HyVee’s were 4 dollars each and not so pretty. New Pi had 2 dollar pumpkins and they are so pretty and perfect. We’re going to carve them at Nora’s house tonight. Just wanted to share my story :-)

  3. Big Bro says:

    November 1st, 2008 at 4:01 am

    … and that’s why you give them the could shoulder! Jesus!!! Maybe you should never be a bartender… Or maybe you should and you’d be one of those bartenders who actually stops what they’re doing, takes time away from their job, and actually talks to the customers. Maybe you’d be great! lol
    –love, Dus

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