Tag Archives: drama

Whole Foods Drama

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Whole Foods Drama

July10-3I had just left Whole Foods with a bag full of tilapia, chicken and asparagus.  I am a regular there.  At least twice a week my face graces their aisles.  While competing, I frequent the seafood and chicken section.  When not competing, I love their turkey meatloaf, salmons burgers and health(ier) desserts.

This was a typical visit for me.   I had a friendly conversation with workers, walked through the Prepared Foods section, just to intake the smell of what they were cooking, and then checked out in the Express Lane.  I walked out of the store to the bright sun.

And then a police car pulled up in front of me.  I didn’t think I had any unpaid speeding tickets.  I don’t owe anybody child support.  I decided to mind my own business and kept moving.  I looked to my left and noticed another police car.  This was all pretty odd for St. Matthews.  I saw a man in a striped shirt talking on a cell phone standing directly to my right.  As I kept walking, the police officer walked up to the guy, and he took off running full speed.

By now, I’m halfway from the store and the location of my car in the parking lot.  The guy runs right past me as the police try to catch him.  But he was too fast.  Several other men in the parking lot start trying to chase him as well.  Although my track skills are pretty impressive, I knew I wasn’t about to test them out on Joe Blow whom I don’t know.

But I had a dilemma.  I didn’t know how this situation was going to turn out.  I didn’t know if the guy had a weapon.  Should I keep moving and run to my car or should I run back into the store?   When you’re in a situation like that, you really don’t’ have time to rationalize each option – you just act.  I stooped down and ran to my car.  In the process I saw an elderly lady with her grocery cart and I pointed at the chaos and suggested she take cover.

I knew the situation was under control when I looked (from my rearview mirror) toward the Whole Foods and groups of people were standing outside watching the drama.  Obviously the threat was at a minimum.  As I drove off, I found they finally caught the guy close to the Taco Bell.  I have no idea why the police approached him and had no interest in staying around to discover why.   I went to Whole Foods for tilapia, but left with an increased heart rate and the knowledge that although the po-po may be slow, they will track you down!

M.Y. July 2010

Rest in Peace

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Rest In Peace?

Aug09-2My grandmother (my mother’s mother) recently passed away so I traveled to Georgia for the funeral.  I didn’t just go to any part of GA.  No, I went to Bainbridge which is about as far north as you can go in the state before running into Tallahassee, FL.  I went there a lot growing up and always looked forward to my grandma’s homemade chocolate cakes.  But, I also remembered the gnats and how they seemed to outnumber the general population (there are 12,000 people in the town spread out over only 19 square miles).  Small town, yes indeed.

It was good to visit again.  I met people that I had no clue who they were, but they knew everything about me.  Some introduced themselves as cousins that I never knew existed.  Everyone was very welcoming and wanted to accommodate Ms. Lottie Martin’s family.  The funeral was in a small country church and it was packed with people. Any empty spaces were filled with gnats once again.  They didn’t bite like mosquitoes, but they flew around you just enough to make you feel temporary insanity.

I enjoyed hearing the memories the community shared about my grandmother.  My mother was the oldest child, and only girl, with four younger brothers.  It was also soothing to hear stories people shared with growing up with my mother and learning about the stories from back-in-the-day.  After we left, we headed to my grandma’s house and I discovered albums and boxes of photos of my family.
All was well, until I arrived home and received ‘the phone call’.  One of my relatives, I won’t name any names, always seems to want to complain about everything.  This time she was calling me to rant and rave about how the service was done.  She didn’t like the program.  She didn’t like the service.  She talked about how she would have done it differently.  And you know what?  I didn’t really care what she had to say.

Anyone that has ever had to plan a funeral knows that it is a very rapid process. You are grieving and at the same time trying to make every detail right.  It’s not easy.  I did it for my mother.  There’s the entombment, the funeral, the burial, the bills, the bills, the emotions.  I put the mute button on my relative and her complaints.  There are some people that are never happy and try to make you unhappy with them.  You have to just brush them off, love them from afar, and keep your positive thoughts close to your heart.  Don’t let them bring you down.

M.Y.  August 2009