My wife and I were shopping at Trader Joe’s at 5
o’clock. For all its superior features, Trader Joe’s is bagger-deprived, so check-out lines move slowly. They were very long at 5
o’clock.
Searching for the mythical shortest line, we found one
that qualified but only because an overflowing cart stood at the end with no
one nearby. We considered. Most likely its owner had rushed off for a forgotten
item. After a minute when no one appeared, we wondered if someone had abandoned
it. The line moved forward, opening a substantial gap in front of the ownerless
cart. We decided that sufficient time had elapsed and took our position.
Immediately, a woman appeared.
“Excuse me! I was in line,” she said.
“You were gone a long time,” said my wife.
“Not true! I wasn’t away twenty seconds. You’re in my
spot.”
“We’ll stay,” I
said, provoked by her mendacious defense.
She seemed about to make a scene, but before anything
developed, my wife told me to shut up and moved our cart to the end of the
line. As far as we were concerned, that ended the matter. We began discussing
the evening’s activities. The lady with the cart couldn’t overhear, but (in
retrospect) she probably thought we were muttering about her. After a minute,
she whirled angrily.
“This is clearly very important to you! So I’m going to
let you have the precious position you yearn for.” She pushed her cart away but
not before turning to wave her finger and add: “Bad Karma! But sooner or later
it will find you.”
Having the last word in these disputes equals victory,
so we were left feeling defeated.
Then miraculously, Karma found us. A clerk opened an
empty register, waved us over, and suddenly we were first in line!
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