The Dangers of Shopping

The forest was often deceiving. It looked so majestic and inviting from the outside. You'd never think it was filled with potentially dangerous creatures.

I went shopping at a large discount retail store and discovered I'd rather be in the open sea throwing up last year's dinner. The outside had been so inviting. The storefront sparkled and told of a grand palace that would provide my wildest dreams. The people I saw entering the storefront had looked so normal and seemed courteous. What happened? Was there a magical entrance that transformed them from Jeckle into Hyde. These same people became aggressive and unaccountable once they entered. They had anger and discontent on their faces and it was obvious that they had one mission-to make my life a living hell.

The isles were filled with everything you could possibly want. Televisions, computers, kitchen supplies, beds, tires, food, and a whole assortment of priced to sell items. Don't dare stop to look though. Stopping disrupts the whole flow and you'll find many angry patrons standing behind you-waiting for a chance to do their rapid marathon pick up. Most shoppers were husband and wife teams and more often then not the husband was the one pushing the cart, angry and frowning. He was not, however, the one guiding their movement. That task was left to the wife. She knew exactly where they needed to go and would often grab the front of shopping cart and guide it from one item to the next. I watched as several couples could be seen exchanging words about how rude people were. I was amazed to notice how easily they took on the same behavior. Was it the store that made them behave this way or was this their normal behavior? I wondered where they worked and if they treated their customer like they did fellow patrons.

It wasn't long before I was pushing our cart and my wife was in front dragging the cart and me from isle to isle. Without stoplights it was almost impossible to turn and merge at each approaching intersection. Not once did I see someone stop to let us in. At first we would wait for an opening before entering an isle. It didn't take long, however, to realize that this strategy was not going to work. I was becoming more angry and noticed I was frowning. "Just push the cart into the isle," I said. It's obvious no one is going to let us in." We became more and more aggressive as we moved toward the back of the store. At one point, I got upset when someone stopped to look at an item. I didn't want to wait for them. "People are so rude!" I said. We became more and more like those we felt anger toward and it wasn't long before we too had become Hyde-like. Pushing our way from isle to isle and definitely not stopping to let someone merge. We had become like the beast!

As we left the store I felt the tension melt away from my shoulders. I realized that shopping was probably more dangerous then the mountains, desert, or jungle. This shopping experience left me wondering about my increased risk for stress related health conditions like high blood pressure and eventual stroke. In the wilderness I felt safer. Most creatures try to avoid contact. They save their 'Hyde' personality for times of great distress or hunger. It's to bad that we can't learn from them! It's to bad we can't be more like the beasts we fear.