Attention Shoppers

Shopping at the mega box store on the weekend is like playing a full contact sport. Sometimes it feels as though I should be wearing a helmet. At other times it feels like driving bumper cars. Don’t try to pretend you have no idea what I'm talking about. We've all done it and we've all thought the same thing. I just used the bumper cars thing. We all have our own comparisons for these types of special situations.

Sundays seem to be food sample day at this particular store for whatever reason. With a different kind of taste kiosk plugging offerings of a new or improved delicacy at the end of almost every aisle in the entire food area of the store, I could quite literally enjoy a hearty lunch buffet sampling of foods from around the world as I shop. And have.

I find entertainment in the people that occupy these spaces equipped with a small microwave, toaster oven, hot plate or grilling device to warm or under-cook whatever unique edible titbit they have to offer. I always enjoy finding quite the varied range of personalities and levels of enthusiasm to be found here as well. 

When I find a sample sniper that truly enjoys what they are doing it makes me want to stand there and, not only willingly eat their offering but I also seem to unwittingly become engaged in conversation. I had just one of those experiences recently.

Rounding a corner I came upon just such a person. He not only knew everything about the product but he also knew what it goes with, doesn't go with, what to add to it to enhance it and just how remarkable and unlike anything of its kind it truly is. His level of enthusiasm was truly infectious. It was as if he had just discovered the one and only thing in life that everyone in the entire world was missing, and was unable to contain this information any longer for fear of exploding from the pressure build up. It was borderline exhausting. At least it was for my wife. She told me as much and in those words too. “It was borderline exhausting”.

I could not help but also become excited about this encounter as I became privy to stories of his personal experience with the product, which was my favourite portion of the conversation I must say. It almost made me want to buy more than one package, when all of a sudden my wife taps me on the shoulder and gives me that look. This means that it’s time to walk away now.

Expressing my gratitude I carry on with shopping in a rather elevated frame of mind. My wife and I smile at each other as we walk down the next aisle and reflect on just how pleasant that was. We then realize that we will never be able to eat another sample food without thinking of that guy. For the life of me, I don’t remember what it was that I was eating but I will remember him for sure. A job very well done I must say.