Ok, so not the actual Meg Ryan but a few weeks ago I did a pretty good impression of her. One of my favorite Meg Ryan movies is the classic 90s flick "You've Got Mail". I love pretty much the whole movie with its funny scenes, highly quotable lines, and sweet love/hate/love story between Meg Ryan's Kathleen Kelly and Tom Hanks' Joe Fox. However, the other day I had a serious case of life imitating art in my local grocery store channeling one of Meg's scenes from this particular rom-com.
For me, one of the funniest scenes in the movie is when Kathleen goes to pick up a few items in the Thanksgiving rush at a grocery store and ends up in a cash only line with only a credit card in her possession. A debate ensues between Kathleen and a harried cashier, played by a pre-"Grey's Anatomy" Sara Ramirez. Other impatient holiday shoppers chime in too about the inconvenience that Kathleen is causing them in her cashless state. Joe steps in to save the day for Kathleen by charming Rose the checker into swiping Kathleen's card, allowing everyone to return to their Thanksgiving plans.
So, circling back to my own Meg Ryan "You've Got Mail" grocery store moment. About three weeks ago, I had to run into the local grocery store on a Thursday evening to pick up a few items we needed for supper that night and some baking I was planning on doing. I also needed to get $20 in cash to give to some students as a donation for an Alzheimer's Walk-A-Thon they were participating in. I quickly made my way through the store, grabbing my needed items, and trying to juggle all of them since I didn't need a basket. (Spoiler alert: I really did need a basket.) There was a humorous moment with me dropping and then following after a can of cinnamon rolls as they rolled down part of the frozen foods aisle! I finally wrangled the wayward cinnamon rolls and picked up the last rather cold item, a container of Lite Cool Whip.
I found an empty check out lane and began to place my intended purchases on the belt, making polite small talk with the cashier. A friend from church got in line behind me and he and I caught up on how both of our families were, work days, weekend plans, etc. About that time the cashier scanned my last item, gave me my total, and asked for payment. It was at this point that I quickly realized my wallet was in the car from my earlier stop at the gas station in Grenada. Oops! No problem, I think, I have my check book. I quickly re-grouped and proceeded to write my check and hand it to the lady while asking if I could get the $20 in cash that I needed. I was swiftly informed that cash back was not allowed with checks and the manager was called over to also inform me of this, just in case I were to doubt the young cashier. Ok, minor inconvenience but I'll work it out I said to myself. "That's fine," I replied, all while slightly apologizing to my friend behind me for holding him up.
Then, the cashier asked for my driver's license to add the information to my check. This presented a problem considering it was in my wallet in the car. When I told her this, she let out an audible sigh and impatiently asked if she could have my phone number while motioning for the manager from earlier to approve my check sans license number. Never mind the fact that my husband or I are in this store at least twice a week. My fellow church member even offered to vouch for me in that I wasn't sketchy and my check wouldn't bounce! I gave the cashier my number, a little embarrassed at all the fuss, and even offered to give her the first three numbers of my driver's license that I actually knew! It wasn't very well received. The manager approved my "rogue" check and I quickly grabbed my bags to scurry out of the way of my friend and the other customers who had joined our line in the middle of my debacle. I ended my evening of shopping at WalMart where I was able to get the cash I needed to make good on my promised donations to my students. The moral of the story is, always make sure you have your wallet and debit card when shopping. Or at least have a Tom Hanks leading man there to sweet talk your cashier!
No comments:
Post a Comment