View from a motorized cart

I guess I have had an epiphany of sorts today. I was out for the first time yesterday since my ankle surgery. I went to the specialist for followup. The soft cast was removed and replaced with an ace wrap. I've also been cleared to returned to work next Monday. So, since my first day back will be a 12 hour day, I figure I need to use the rest of the week to ease back into action.

Yesterday evening I went to the Rite Aid to get a prescription filled. As I shared on Facebook last night, I thought of the old musing "Only in America does a sick person have to go to the back of the drug store to pick up their prescriptions, when a healthy person can buy their cigarettes in the front of the store."  I was informed that this is primarily a security issue. I made the decision that for the next little bit, I will mainly go to the stores that have the motorized carts.

Now I have had the legal right to park in a handicapped spot now for over 10 years due to the fact that I have an artificial knee and arthritis in my legs. I felt that for the time being that I now also have a moral right to park there as well. And with the holiday season coming up, those spaces will be at a premium. In some cases brainless people will decide to use them as a cart return, or snow plow drivers will pile snow in some of them.

But back to the motorized carts. I took my son to Walmart today as he had to get some items. I also needed a backpack as my hands and arms will be busier than usual for at least the next 6 weeks while I'm on crutches(no weight bearing allowed.) I got inside the store, where I was immediately given a cart and the people greeter took my crutches. And now it's times to begin my adventure. My first destination was sporting goods. The only backpack in my price range was a camouflage, mainly for hunters, but not for me. Only problem was at the end of the aisle. Some idiot parked his shopping cart there, blocking my way. I had to back up all the way in order to proceed. And then after being able to go to the next aisle, I saw the person responsible for that cart. No surprises, looked like someone who would personify the punchline of a Jeff Foxworthy joke. But at this point if he had looked like a Rhodes scholar, I would have thought of him as an idiot. I wonder now if I could have guilty of such a thoughtless act in the past?

I also wonder if I will view people in these carts with different eyes when I'm back walking without crutches? It seems to me that I will probably notice other people besides those who are morbidly obese. I have been guilty of thinking that these people would need these carts less if they walk more. I also think that people should be more aware of those not able to walk as they do and give them a little more right of way. And also if you need to visit with someone you meet in the store, go to the sandwich shop in front and BS over a cup of coffee. Cliff Note: That's been a pet peeve for awhile, whether I'm pushing a regular shopping cart or riding a motorized one.

And no, I didn't make this my usual EBBS bashing article because the employees went out of their way to help me when they saw I needed help.