Saturday 12 November 2011

#120: Seniors Helping Seniors

My biggest grocery shopping challenge as a retiree (aside from dodging other retired shoppers) has been dealing with those darned flimsy plastic bags that are intended for loose fruits and vegetables.  I can't open them.  I finger the edges again and again, and they stay doggedly shut.  What is going on?

Are these new bags since last June?  A cost cutting strategy, perhaps? A ploy to keep me in the store for twice as long?   Because I now seem to take 2 or 3 minutes to wrestle just one little bag open.

Or perhaps it is my fault.  It could be that my aging fingers are becoming inept, or perhaps they are just really dry.  But I refuse to lick them in order to gain traction.

I was recently engaged in a power struggle with what was intended to be a carrot bag when a nearby voice echoed my frustration.  "I just hate those bags!" said the older woman on my right.  "So this is what I do", and she reached out to finger a wet bunch of parsley. Then she opened her bag.

Whatever works.  If you see me petting the damp veggies I'm not testing them for freshness.



  

4 comments:

  1. We have a choice of flimsy unopenable bags or more sturdy ones. I spurn both and bring along a supply of used bags. No problems opening these ones.

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  2. it seems like a handy solution to wet your fingers on nearby produce -- but I shudder to think how many people might have handled fresh produce when I buy it. ...Those rubber fingers we used to use when I had office jobs would be very handy. ....Could carry wet paper towels in a ziploc bag, and zip open the bag to moisten fingers as needed???

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  3. I never remember to bring little bags with me grocery shopping -- I do well to remember the big ones. But that is a logical answer. I do have a bottle of hand sanitizer and have used it and then opened a whole bunch of plastic bags preemptively....

    I'll resort to parsley in a pinch.

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