Thinking that the "worse" of the Christmas returns was over and that it was safe to venture out to shop now, I packed by hand-written, back-of-an-envelope list of errands into my front shirt pocket and headed out. First stop. Walgreen's. Now, this could be a story within itself and maybe down the line somewhere this year, I might get around to posting in.
My after shave isn't anything special. My grandfather used it. My father used it. It was always found on the back shelf behind each barber's chair in any barbershop, even if the chair in the shop didn't have a barber assigned to it at any given time. The company that makes the stuff celebrated it's 200th anniversary in 2010. It's got those turn-of-the century phrases on the label that reads with sounds of the old-world like "Essence Imported from France" and "Blended in the USA".
My dad got the stuff for me for years until his supplier finally passed on. I searched the cosmetic supply places and Barber Supply places until I was blue in the face. Then one day, I decided that I would try one last time on line. Bingo! There it was. And, it also listed another old smell that I grew up with known to my age group simply as "body splash". If you were taking a girl to a show or a dance, you splashed a little here and a little there and slicked the combed hair above the ears back on each side and were out the door.
As luck would have it. Walgreen's were out. The guy said that he would call the neighboring Walgreen's to see if they had stock. They did and were holding it at the front counter for me. I could order it from Drugstore.com but the shipping is not cheap--costing as much as a 6-ounce bottle of the stuff. On line the bottles are 12-ounces but you loose half in shipping so buying a 6-ounce locally generally is the better deal. Once or twice a year the 12-ounce bottles are much cheaper and I order the splash and the after shave. It usually last me most of the year after I receive it at the door. I checked out what I did find on my list, bought a couple of Russell Stover's chocolate-covered cream filled hearts. Yeah, mover over Christmas left overs--Valentine's here! Don't you just love the calendar for retail?
My route had to be re-worked as I try to plan out my stops so that the grocery stop is the last stop before home. In this case the drugstore and the grocery store are a half-block from each other and I'm going much farther to get the after shave. I can stop at my other Kroger's. Didn't think about one thing, however.
The next stop was to have a hot bowl of home-made chili at a local greasy spoon. From there, I had to make a return trip because there was no spoon i n the bag of chili. I got a lecture from Gus. Gus is like that. You get a lecture if you are not ready to order when he arrives at your table to take your order. "No ready? You wait. I take more orders." I can remember years ago a greasy spoon with a name like "Rusty Lantern". They had their Gus, too! He was Sicilian and more gruff! The food came on a sheet of wax paper--no plates. At lunch time, you could stand in line down the sidewalk for half your lunch hour but the food was out of this world.
The bowl of chili got eaten in my car in the parking lot of an alternate and friendly Kroger's. It was now getting close to peak travel time , I wanted to get the shopping done quickly and get home. That was not to be. Not this day. NOT this Kroger's.
I know that some of you think I pick on Kroger's lately. From both angles, It has only been about the deli and the size of the fried chicken pieces--which now are pretty much uniform--all much smaller! At least it is uniform. And, in Kroger's defense today, it is a jurisdictional issue of Dallas passing a new law that other suburban cities have not. Plastic Bags. Dallas has banned. My Kroger is in Richardson and it does not effect me. But, today, because of my 200 plus year old after shave not being in stock at my Walgreen's, I'm at a Kroger in Dallas. Funny thing, I carry bags in my trunk. So, into the truck I went for the bags and headed for the front sliding doors.
Shopping went swiftly with only one isle traffic jam. Then I headed straight for the self-check outs.
Here's the thing. The self-check-outs now have a software add-on if you want to purchase a plastic bag or use you own and you are in the city of Dallas. If you use your own, then you have to clear the space on the counter where you can sit your items purchased because you can't put your items in your own bags until after you
check out. It's a weight issue.. No, it's a plastic bag ordinance issue that has unplanned consequences to the ordinance. Won't be using the self-check outs in Dallas Kroger's from now on. The lines now take three times as long to check out.In short--the new law has slowed down the self-checkout lines.
My after shave isn't anything special. My grandfather used it. My father used it. It was always found on the back shelf behind each barber's chair in any barbershop, even if the chair in the shop didn't have a barber assigned to it at any given time. The company that makes the stuff celebrated it's 200th anniversary in 2010. It's got those turn-of-the century phrases on the label that reads with sounds of the old-world like "Essence Imported from France" and "Blended in the USA".
My dad got the stuff for me for years until his supplier finally passed on. I searched the cosmetic supply places and Barber Supply places until I was blue in the face. Then one day, I decided that I would try one last time on line. Bingo! There it was. And, it also listed another old smell that I grew up with known to my age group simply as "body splash". If you were taking a girl to a show or a dance, you splashed a little here and a little there and slicked the combed hair above the ears back on each side and were out the door.
As luck would have it. Walgreen's were out. The guy said that he would call the neighboring Walgreen's to see if they had stock. They did and were holding it at the front counter for me. I could order it from Drugstore.com but the shipping is not cheap--costing as much as a 6-ounce bottle of the stuff. On line the bottles are 12-ounces but you loose half in shipping so buying a 6-ounce locally generally is the better deal. Once or twice a year the 12-ounce bottles are much cheaper and I order the splash and the after shave. It usually last me most of the year after I receive it at the door. I checked out what I did find on my list, bought a couple of Russell Stover's chocolate-covered cream filled hearts. Yeah, mover over Christmas left overs--Valentine's here! Don't you just love the calendar for retail?
My route had to be re-worked as I try to plan out my stops so that the grocery stop is the last stop before home. In this case the drugstore and the grocery store are a half-block from each other and I'm going much farther to get the after shave. I can stop at my other Kroger's. Didn't think about one thing, however.
The next stop was to have a hot bowl of home-made chili at a local greasy spoon. From there, I had to make a return trip because there was no spoon i n the bag of chili. I got a lecture from Gus. Gus is like that. You get a lecture if you are not ready to order when he arrives at your table to take your order. "No ready? You wait. I take more orders." I can remember years ago a greasy spoon with a name like "Rusty Lantern". They had their Gus, too! He was Sicilian and more gruff! The food came on a sheet of wax paper--no plates. At lunch time, you could stand in line down the sidewalk for half your lunch hour but the food was out of this world.
The bowl of chili got eaten in my car in the parking lot of an alternate and friendly Kroger's. It was now getting close to peak travel time , I wanted to get the shopping done quickly and get home. That was not to be. Not this day. NOT this Kroger's.
I know that some of you think I pick on Kroger's lately. From both angles, It has only been about the deli and the size of the fried chicken pieces--which now are pretty much uniform--all much smaller! At least it is uniform. And, in Kroger's defense today, it is a jurisdictional issue of Dallas passing a new law that other suburban cities have not. Plastic Bags. Dallas has banned. My Kroger is in Richardson and it does not effect me. But, today, because of my 200 plus year old after shave not being in stock at my Walgreen's, I'm at a Kroger in Dallas. Funny thing, I carry bags in my trunk. So, into the truck I went for the bags and headed for the front sliding doors.
Shopping went swiftly with only one isle traffic jam. Then I headed straight for the self-check outs.
Here's the thing. The self-check-outs now have a software add-on if you want to purchase a plastic bag or use you own and you are in the city of Dallas. If you use your own, then you have to clear the space on the counter where you can sit your items purchased because you can't put your items in your own bags until after you
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| Dallas Stores has the plastic bag ordinance...not the suburban stores like Richardson, Carrollton, Addison,Garland, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, etc.,etc. |
