Checkers

Monday night is the typical grocery shopping night for my husband and I. We love the fact that the grocery store is a very convenient 1 block away, however, we loathe the fact that most the employees we come in contact with have some issues:

The Checkers:

• A slow-moving older woman
• A middle-aged woman who tells you all her personal/medical problems, and will also look at all your purchases and ask you if you've ever tried them before--and if you have--asks you if they are any good (no, lady, they are shit. that's why i'm buying them again)
• A woman who every time I buy a Lean Cuisine asks me how much weight I've lost on my diet (does it look like i'm on a diet? no. i'm just too lazy to pack an actual lunch)
• A 20-something girl who always compliments our purchases ("you guys always get the best stuff!") and then asks if she can come over for dinner. I'm almost certain she's joking about that...
• An older guy who is really chatty about the weather and local sports (neither of which i have much to say about)

The Baggers:

• A....mentally deficient....middle-aged man who is always asking if it's break time
• A 20-something girl who it's a toss up of whether or not she's mentally deficient, or just really fucking weird

And then there is the kid we had for a checker tonight:

He's pretty new; maybe 2 or 3 months on the job. And he's kind of quiet, but very nice, and not a bad checker. I appreciate that he's not too chatty because I am terrible at talking to people I don't know, but he reminds Jim and I a lot of someone we know and love in looks and personality. So that, plus the fact that he's nice, makes me want to try to talk to him. I always hope that if I can ask him a question, it might get him going on a lengthy conversation to fill the time. It usually ends up in a short, sort of awkward conversation though since we have no common interests and I have nothing to say in response to his talk about music or the places he hangs out. So tonight I noticed he was wearing a lot of bead bracelets; like 8 or 9 of them:

Me: Did you make all your bracelets?

J: No. People made them for me. It's a Rave thing.

Me: (cluelessly) .....Oh.......Cool......

J: If you think these are cool, you should see the ones that I'm not allowed to wear to work!

Me: (ignorantly not knowing what that means......blank stare)

J: Some of them are like 5 inches tall and some of them are 3-D, like with charms coming out of them and stuff. Those are REALLY cool!

Me: (feeling old and ignorant) ..........Oh......That's awesome.......

(back to awkward silence)

So as Jim and I were loading groceries into the car I was asking him if he heard my conversation with the checker:

Jim: Well I heard you ask him about his bracelets, but I didn't hear his response.

Me: He said people made the bracelets for him. That it's a Rave thing.

Jim: What?!

Me: A Rave thing.

Jim: That actually doesn't surprise me...

Me: He does look like the type, but I thought it was kind of weird cause he had to call a "21" for the guy ahead of us in line. So apparently there are under-age Rave clubs.

Jim: .....Uh.......That doesn't sound right......

Me: (ignorantly old and naive) Oh.......