Carts, Carts, Crappy Carts

Friday night was a crazy night in the Carlson Casa. After putting Zachary to bed, I thought I would go to the grocery store since Troy was engrossed in the Blackhawks game. (It's playoff season which means there is always a lot of yelling, clapping and pacing in front of the television during these games; and I am not talking about me or Zachary.) It is a rare occurrence that I get to use both hands and grocery shopping without the boys has come to be somewhat of a treat. Plus, I had actually made an effort with my appearance that day and thought I should probably show off my straightened hair and eyeliner to perfect strangers who don't care. 

I grabbed my wallet and hopped into my G6 which I hardly ever drive any more because I bought the coup when I was still dating Troy. The idea of purchasing a sedan so that I could one day put a car seat in the back was so far removed in my mind, though now I wish I would have opted for the four door. But, I liked how sporty the 2-door looked and knew it would be my last "cool" car before I entered responsible adulthood. Well, responsible adulthood came knocking last May 30th and now my cool car sits in the driveway, unloved because it is a pain in the you-know-what to get the car seat and the wee babe in the back. But I digress . . . I decided to take my cool car and head over to our 24 hour Kroger at 9 pm, the time that most young adults are just getting ready to go out and go dancing or hang out with their friends. Meanwhile, I am struggling to stay awake on my 2 mile drive to get the family's weekly groceries.

Once I got to Kroger, I sat in my car with my eyes closed for a minute, reveling in the quiet and wondering if I should have just taken my straightened hair to bed instead of the grocery store. Then I realized that I would very easily fall asleep right there in the car so I had better get my buns perpendicular. Besides, maybe the motorized carts would be available for a tired mom's use. (I will shamefully admit, I honestly thought about using the motorized carts, but you will be pleased to know that I got around the store on with my own leg power.)

6 Month CostCo Cutie

I walk over to the cart bay and grab the cart closest to me. As I started to wheel it into the store, I was shocked that I picked a good cart! I don't know what it is, but I am notorious for picking the worst cart in the bunch. There are times when I go through 4 carts - no joke -  only to pick the 5th cart that is still crappy but will at least get the job done. When I shop with Z, I tend to discard more than if I am not with him because so many of those dang safety belts are knotted, tangled, caught in the metal bars, missing, or gross. So when I grabbed this cart, I was half tempted to go buy a lottery ticket because I thought it was my lucky day! . . . . . Then I turned the cart and the whole thing almost tipped. Typical. Good thing I didn't buy a lottery ticket. I finished my shopping with the crappy cart, mostly because I was too tired to get another one, but I woke up the next morning with Popeye-like biceps due to my mad-style maneuvering cart skills.

Why is it so tough to get a quality cart? Why does every cart have a wheel that jumps, or twine spun around on the wheels, or garbage in the cart, or a missing plastic handle bar, or rattles so loud people in the parking lot can hear your cart, or a wheel that refuses to spin, etc., etc., etc.? Does anyone ever check the carts? Do they go in for a routine inspection? Why the inhumanity?! I just want to haul my groceries around the store in a quiet and smooth fashion!

Honestly, if I were in charge of marketing for these grocery chains, I wouldn't focus on low prices. I would advertise how awesome my carts were and what an enjoyable experience you will have steering them all over my store. If I saw an ad like that, I would shop at that store. Done and done.

Alas, there are bigger fish to fry in this crazy thing we call life. So, I will leave you with this one tip to help make your crappy cart situation more manageable. When you go to grab a cart and is links up with another and you can't free one cart, pick up the handle so the back two wheels lift up and then let go of the handle to drop to the ground. When you go to pull the cart, only one will pull away. I wish I could take credit for that, but the lady at the Starbucks inside the Kroger told me that after she saw me struggle with a cart and then consequently give up to get a latte.

If you have never had a problem with a crappy cart then you can just disregard what you have read here and you should probably go buy a lottery ticket and then split your winnings with me since it was my idea.