More Fun at Wal-Mart

I went to Wal-Mart tonight to buy some stuff to make dinner, a recipe I totally ganked off the Food Network. As I was walking through the parking lot on my way in, an old man in a handicapped parking spot called to me to give him a hand. He was probably in his 90's, recently had a leg amputated, and his "good-for-nothing son" was out of town. I helped the guy get his motorized cart out of the back of his van, and that was that.

The actual obtainment of the ingredients for my delicious Chicken Chorizo Stoup(a cross between a soup and stew, it's stoupid), recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray, was uneventful. The real story comes into play in the Self-Checkout line- I happened to be behind a totally normal looking older man, in his early 60's, I would guess, who had in his cart a small trashcan(with a bag already in it), a couple of empty boxes, and an obviously used screwdriver. At first, I thought he might have been a maintenance guy doing some work on the machine. But, no, as I watched him, he pretended to scan each item. He then pulled a receipt out of his pocket, and pretended to take that from the receipt printer. No one(other than myself) gave him a second glace. The whole time he looked as though this is something he does everyday, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he does. I guess that's one way to cope with those psychosis-inducing U-Scan machines.

On the way back to my car, I witnessed an older lady parking in the fire lane, at least partially. The rest of her car was blocking an entire lane of traffic, and she had a line of people honking at her. Instead of, say, moving her car to an actual parking spot, she got out of her car and startd walking past the other cars shouting "Do you have a problem? Do you have a problem with the way I'm parked?"

So there you have it- In a 20 minute period, I was able to experience first hand the physically handicapped, the mentally handicapped, and the apparently emotionally handicapped. The whole thing got me to thinking of how I take my youth for granted. I won't be young forever, and it is important that I take care of myself physically, mentally, and emotionally so that I won't become the old fogey relying on the kindness of strangers to get in and out of the grocery store, or the total nut-job who takes some sick sort of satisfaction from going through check-out lines.

Is this what our society is leading to? A nation where our elderly are left to fend for themselves, because Wal-mart is right down the friggin' road? Forget the nursing home for the 90 year old one legged man, we'll just let get install one of those motorized carts in his van and he'll be fine! At least until he realizes he's out of Depends at 9:00pm on a Friday night, and has to count on people like me to stand there with him for 15 minutes in 30 degree weather, ranting the whole time about the quality of his life. I definitely felt for the guy, but there is no fucking way I am going to let myself be in those shoes.

And that poor bastard in the check-out line. Sure, he's no threat to anyone, so who cares? Let him be insane and live off of social security. Who does this guy have around to keep himself in check? To get him to seek medical help? Probably no one, or no one competent enough to make him see that there is an issue with his behaviour. We live in society where responsibility for those less fortunate than ourselves is an option that virtually no one exercises. Is there no government agency where people like this guy can turn to free treatment?

I don't want to be a burden on my family, friends, or society as a whole when I get old. I want to have a comfortable savings to live off of, and have enough left over to afford whatever medical assistance I need. But I also want to be someone who contributes something, really contributes something meaningful to society, so that society will actually want to help me back. Here I am, planning out how I want to die. This is why I normally shop at Whole Foods instead of Wal-Mart =)

For now, I want to go eat more of this Chicken Chorizo Stoup. If you like hearty, spicy food thats easy as hell to make, check out that recipe above. It's delicious, and only takes about 45 minutes to prepare and cook. My declaration of my love for the Food Network will have to wait for another post, though.

And, folks, be sure to spay or neuter your elderly.