Sunday was not only the day that greeting card companies tell us to say “I love you” to one other, but also a day in which I received an unexpected present. I’ll begin with some backstory:
I went to Trader Joe’s to get a few items while my lovely wife and the two babies inside her did some things around the house. I’ve gotten to know this TJ’s well, and so I’m able to look at the list handed to me and plan my course of action. Anything in or near the produce section is in Area A (which I sometimes physically write next to the items), the meats/cheeses/frozen stuff is what I call Area B, and so on. I’m pretty damn efficient there, as long as there isn’t a new item on my list that throws me off.
As I walked in on Sunday and proceeded to Area A, a display caught my eye with a bunch of bottles of wine. I recognized it immediately, for I’d seen it there once before many months ago. The wine, a red blend with a label that said “Chariot,” was highly praised by the TJ’s staff. I was told at the time that it’s only available every so often, so people usually grabbed two or three at a time. It was a good enough marketing ploy that I snagged one for the low low price of either $3.99 or $4.99 and planned on finding a time to try it out. Well, those times didn’t really present themselves, and I soon found myself in need of a bottle of wine to bring to someone’s house as a gift (where it remained unopened). Like that, the Chariot had passed me by.
Though the display certainly grabbed my attention, I pushed on to Area A. After B and C, I was near the cash registers and ready to check out. But like Steve Martin’s car in “L.A. Story,” my shopping cart magically guided me back toward the Chariot display. (There was no sentient freeway sign though imploring me to, “Sing Doo Wah Diddy.” Oops, spoiler alert.) I grabbed a bottle, and then went back to the register with the shortest line. To my right, a TJ’s employee stepped toward me and said, “I can help you over on this one.” I looked up and saw that he was indicating the express lane, expressly serving those with a maximum of ten items. I tried quickly counting what I had since I knew it would be close, but he was waving me on and so I just went with it. Hey, he’s the one who suggested it.
Here’s where the unexpected gift came: “Can I see your ID?” he asked. “Yes please!” I answered. “It’s been a while, so I appreciate it.” He took a look at my birthday on the license and said, “Oh yeah, you’re good.” Ladies and gentlemen, on February 14, 2010, I had been legally able to drink alcohol in the great state of California for 11 years, 7 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days. Since this is currently the oldest I’ve ever been, that’s a personal record. (It’s hard for me to get too excited about this since my fellow blogger MC Squared will probably get carded until he’s 45.)
When we opened up that bottle of wine later that evening with some friends, it was indeed tasty. Maybe I’ll go grab another one or two before they’re gone to see if they age well…since I apparently do.