By Lynna Clark
We have a grocery store in town that requires a 25 cent deposit for the use of a shopping cart. Therefore we make sure to have an Aldi quarter in the truck at all times. If one were to get caught without a quarter, one would have to carry a shopping bag and that can get downright burdensome. I tried to beat the system by using an empty box from one of their shelves to gather the items on my list.
Okay. So the box was empty because I unloaded it.
Annyyywayyy… by the time I finished shopping, the jug of milk had rolled over two cartons of eggs. I’ve learned the hard way. One does not go to Aldi without ones quarter.
A close friend who shall remain nameless confided that her husband freaks out if she uses his Aldi quarter. Actually he stashes away several in his vehicle. She tried to reason with him that it only takes one. He made it clear that she is not to spend his Aldi quarter[s.] I guess it’s a security thing… in case he has a buggy emergency. All I know is that this normally mild mannered man goes from zero to psycho over his Aldi quarter.
As a precaution, we stash only one Aldi quarter; for if we kept more, we’d surely go whipping into the Wendy’s drive-thru for a 99 cent Frosty and end up using all our Aldi quarters. No need tempting fate.
One day as I approached the line of buggies with quarter in hand, a lady walked toward me pushing a cart. Instead of retrieving her sacred quarter, she offered her buggy to me. I tried to give her my Aldi quarter. She smiled and shook her head no as she said, “Be blessed and pass it on.”
Whoa!!!
I think I heard angels singing! How does one nominate a fellow sojourner for sainthood anyway?
I pocketed my Aldi quarter and skipped jauntily inside with my free buggy. What a wonderful beautiful happy day!
As I unloaded the groceries into the truck, I noticed a young mother walking toward the entrance. Her frazzled appearance and two wild kids in tow qualified her as the perfect candidate.
“Would you like this buggy?” I asked.
“No… it’s okay. I don’t have a quarter.”
“Here you go. Someone did the same for me.”
Her face brightened and for a minute I thought we might share a hug. I should have given her my name in case she wanted to nominate me for sainthood. Who knew an Aldi quarter could bring such bliss!
It really IS going to be a wonderful day in the neighborhood! In fact, I think I might have enough nickels for a Frosty!
