Cash Line Only

Erin (die Frau) asked me to stop by the store on my way home to pick up a can of tomato sauce to be used in the preparation of dinner. Not a big deal. Since we follow the principles taught by Dave Ramsey, we have an envelope with cash in it labeled grocery. Prior to following the envelope system I rarely carried cash and was a debit card king; I would pay with my debit card for a grocery bill under $1. Anyway, since going to cash for groceries and other items, I have found that paying with cash is much faster than a debit card...and I like that. I am always in a hurry.

So, I am in the store and ready to check out with my 1 can of Tomato sauce. There are 5 lanes open (we live in a rural town in Alabama...and the store I go to doesn't have a self-checkout system...one of the stores does have it but I don't like the store and have really found the self checkout to be more laborious and slow than a checkout person). Three of the lanes have people with full grocery carts, one lane has 6 people with an average of 5 items each, and the remaining lane has 1 gentleman (Person A) whose last item is being scanned and another guy (Person B) with 1 item. BINGO! I hop in that lane.

Well, the clerk tells Person A his total. He then reaches in suit jacket and pulls out his checkbook and begins to write his check. I hate check writers...it takes such a long time. This man, though, must have been the most meticulous check writer ever though. He was making slow and deliberate motions. I was thinking to myself, "IT IS A STINKIN' CHECK...NOT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. WE DON'T NEED CURLY LETTERS AND CALLIGRAPHY!!!!!" Of course, then, he doens't have his driver's licensce out, so he has to pull that out and have the clerk write all that info down. grrrrrr.

Finally, Person B steps up to pay. The clerk scans his one item. He is an old man and decides to try out this new-fangled debit card system for the first time. The clerk tells him to scan his card in reader and punch in his PIN. He scans it the card the wrong way. He turns it around and scans it the correct way. He pushes the wrong button (the credit button instead of the debit). He has to start over. He gets to the point where he needs to type in his PIN. He doesn't know his PIN so he has to rifle through his wallet to find his PIN. He punches it in. An error occured and we had to start over. He finally gets it correct. The clerk asks, "Would you like any cash back?" The man doesn't know. He gets a lesson about how he can get cash back with his debit card. He wonders why anyone would want to cash back. The clerk talks to him about saving ATM fees. I am fuming. He decides he doesn't want cash back. She tells him to click OK to accept the charge. He hits the NO button. We begin again... He finally gets it all right and as he is given his reciept, I notice the red edge on it. Yes, we have to have a reciept tape change....

Finally, my turn. I get my one item scanned. Hand the clerk two-one dollar bills. I am done. Meanwhile, all three full carts have completed thier processing and are out the door. The lane with 6 people has allowed all 6 people that I would've been behind, plus 4 other people through.

Erin said God was giving me a patience lesson. I think though, that we need a line just for cash only purchases of 15 items or less.