No Exit

It was a good spring day to drive with the windows down.  Cloudy, no bright sunlight, and with a Goldilocks temperature that was just right.

It was only a short drive to the grocery store but the perfect conditions made me want to keep on driving.  A younger me would have done that, I am sure.  Now, the older I get the more boring I am becoming as if that were even possible.

Turning left into the grocery store parking lot, I was welcomed with a "hello" by four who were on the sidewalk.  A man was standing with a sign board, and by him a woman and two children were seated on portable chairs.  I assumed they were a family.

I nodded my head as I drove on to a parking spot.

The news reports are very clear that the economy is humming along, which itself is reason for inflation, and unemployment is remarkably low.  Yet, here was a family that was hoping that shoppers would help them out with a few dollars.

I walked around the aisles and collected everything that was on my list.  I chuckled when I saw a pile of fresh spinach because I was reminded of this New Yorker cartoon:

At the checkout counter, as I started placing the groceries on the belt, I heard the cashier--a young woman--tell the older woman who was ahead of me, "I love your hummingbird earring."

I don't understand why some cashiers think it is a responsibility to comment something like that or say something other than a "hi" to each and every customer.  I steeled myself for whatever she might say in order to engage me in a meaningless small talk.

"How's your day going so far?" she asked me when it was my turn.

Phew!

"Can't complain."

I actually meant it.  In the grand scheme of things, there is not much for me to complain about.  I just passed a family of four peddling for dollars!

"Yeah, I know what you mean.  Often it is just wasted breath."

"And nothing is going to change anyway."

"True that."

When did this expression "true that" become mainstream?  I hear it everywhere, and from people across the age spectrum.  What is wrong with saying "so true" or "exactly"?

She rang up the total. I paid. I was glad to move along before she said something else.

I decided that I would take a different exit in order to avoid the sidewalk family.  It is my problem, not theirs.  It has been a lifelong struggle of being unable to reconcile my privilege with the visibly under-privileged.  As a kid, when we traveled, I couldn't even enjoy a candy if a beggar-child was right across from me.  Nor could I turn away and have my candy.  It seemed a sin to drive past them with all the groceries that I bought and with the money in the bank.

I took the other exit out to the street.

It was yet another lesson in life that denial would not work.  A young woman was in a wheelchair on the sidewalk by that exit.  It seemed like the lower part of one leg was an artificial one.  She too had a small hand-made sign.

Thankfully, there was no traffic and I didn't have to stop right by her.

As an individual, I cannot do anything to address such problems.  I pay taxes and donate to charitable organizations with the hope that government agencies and social institutions will address our collective problems.  But, we have a federal government that is keen on cutting taxes for the rich and spending a good chunk of the tax revenue on the military.  Who then takes care of my brothers and sisters on the streets?

I can complain about these, and I have been doing so for years.  Nothing has changed.  Wait, things have changed--for the worse!