There were the experienced women of the blue rinse set all manoeuvring their trolleys with gifted skills. Then there were the men whose driving skills more than made up for their inability to find the elusive prize – the 12 pack.
Arriving late on the grid I would be forced to use all my wily experience if I were to be in the contest. Then it came, the announcement that the prizes had all been distributed.
Putting my disappointment aside and trying not to listen to my wife’s exaggerated and non-stop opining about our lateness for the opening, we got on with our shopping.
“What if we don’t get any?” she asked for the umpteenth time. In turn I reminded her about the “cut in half phone books” that used to suffice when I was a kid.
I always preferred the Pink Pages. My mates always used the White. Anyway, they called me names for which I had no understanding at the time but later when I did I always checked the names on the sheet before using it in case the word Toorak appeared.
Anyway, I digress.
Coles was particularly frantic at 8am in the morning with all manner of folk hustling and bustling for position on every isle. Staff were filling the shelves with gusto. That not a brand, by the way, it’s just a word to describe how enthusiastic the staff were.
The only thing we overstocked on was food for our Ellie. Nothing’s too good for her.
So, with a couple of months supply of premium dog food in the trolley we headed for the deli.
When eventually we got to the wine shop my heart sank. There wasn’t a cask of pensioners’ piss in sight. “You will just have to go without,” my wife sternly said.
I must say there are some rude bastards in this world. Twice I nearly hit the deck after two of the blue-rinse set attacked me with a pincer movement from isles 11 and 12.
Mixed up in my thoughts of reporting them to management something deep down in my conscience was worrying me. Just how the rise of narcissism, inequality and the demise of compassion illustrated the state of the world.
Anyway, just as I was shirt-fronted with charge from isle 5 a mate of mine from the bowling club whispered in my ear:
“The deli, mate, they are in the deli.”
“What are?” I answered.
“The toilet rolls, you silly old bastard.”
All of a sudden things clicked together. I sped off down isle 1, soups, spaghetti and tinned fish, past the bakery and arrived just in time to see a 12 pack hurtling toward me.
Being the fast leading full forward that I once was I took it on my chest way above the pack and quickly put it in its place.
As we were exiting the centre Virginia’s friend from the medical clinic stopped us. I knew this would require time and patience. Now Virginia and Veronica are not ones to judge but they do form their own opinions.
Anyway, it appeared that the clinic was experiencing a run on its services with people wanting tests that were not as yet available, and prescription renewals that were not yet due. On top of that the Chemist Warehouse had a two and a half hour prescription wait.
I swear without exaggeration that this is what our town of Traralgon is going through.
Our behaviour is, I believe, symptomatic of what capitalism and the right-wing media has created.
Conversely, here is a little poem I wrote. I thought it might help:
The Hand
The hand is extended
To those who are but poor
The hand is outstretched
To those who have no more
The hand seeks the ill
Without the means to pay
It is its obligation
When society has a say
The hand is extended
To those unloved anymore
The hand reaches out
Prosperity belongs to all
The hand reaches out
To the hungry one and all
The hand it will feed them
In this we all should share
The hand is stretches out
So the homeless shall not fall
The hand offers a place of sleep
No matter what the cost
The hand is extended
To those who grieve and mourn
The hand offers mercy
Loss it will not ignore
The hand is freely given
To the righteous falsely accused
The hand it offers more than hope
It offers labour too
The hand it should be taken
When through the net they fall
When society sees a need
That was not their fault at all
The hand is the government
For everyone to grasp
Not just for those who have
But for those who have nothing at all.
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My Thought For The Day
At some time in the human narrative … in our history, man declared himself superior to women. It must have been an accident, or at least an act of gross stupidity. But that’s men for you.
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