Life in Aisle 5

At the local grocery store, (local as in 20 miles away) , at the checkout stand, I was able to answer "No" when the clerk asked "Did you find everything you were looking for?".  I was not able to find any frozen dumplings.  She smiled at me and said, "well , let me fix that for you, I will be right back".  She left the checkout stand and sprinted towards the frozen food aisle.  When she came back, she had a box in her hand, and she said, "These here ain't as good as my Momma's , but I have to admit, they are pretty good.".  Seeing that it was a box, I knew she had the wrong kind of dumplings.  This was a box of "Sarah Anne Country Fair Chicken and Dumplings".   I thanked her and then told her that I was looking for Chinese Dumplings.  She looked at me and said, "Chinese don't know about dumplings like we do, these are good dumplings, you should try these".  Rather than explain fried dumplings, I became the proud owner of Sarah Anne Dumplings.   I did not mention how I could not find the Tahini,, that would be another exercise in frustration for both of us.  I can only imagine how that conversation would have gone.

The grocery stores in East Texas are a bit of a disappointment.  First off, as you see above, the selection is limited, which I can understand.  The part that I do not understand is that they are not kept very clean.  I maybe spoiled by the Central Market and Whole Foods type of stores.  The grocery stores here are HEB, Wal-Mart , Brookshire Brothers so these are not small Mom and Pop type places.  They are corporate owned businesses.  Somehow the "clean store policy" got lost or the store management just does not care.  It is widespread though so it may be a cultural thing.

Another thing that we have noticed is the overall unhealthiness of the people at the stores.  Again, I may be spoiled coming from Austin where you can't throw a rock without hitting a runner, cyclist, swimmer, yoga person, or vegan (unless they turn sideways).   There seems to be a large (pun intended) number of overweight people.  I mean it is a noticeable presence.  Between the overweight people, the people with Oxygen tanks and the ones on those electric carts, I feel like I am around Oompla-Loompa's playing Mario Cart on the deck of the Calypso.  

Gotta go, it is lunch time and I am having Chicken and Dumplings.