As I stood in a long line at the grocery store this Saturday afternoon, I was surprised to see the guy in front of me, a middle-aged man wearing a green t-shirt who was about 5' 5" and 250 lbs, chomping his way through a very greasy piece of fried chicken as he stood there.
Fried chicken? That caught my eye. Occasionally I see people rip open a candy bar while in line, or maybe even bust into a bag of Dorritos. But fried chicken?
He had clearly ordered the fried chicken at the deli counter, and was eating a piece with his right hand, while in his left hand he held an anaheim chili by the stem. He chomped on that between each bite of fried chicken.
When he finished the chili, he carefully put the stem back in the clear plastic bag from the produce aisle. (Why? Could it assuage his conscience about shoplifting that chili in some way to at least pay for the stem by weight? Or would it be too "rude" under those circumstances to just toss the stem on the floor. What's the etiquette there? )
Do you recognize this as the America of your childhood? Fat and shoplifting, all while snacking betwen meals at 4 PM. A garden gnome sucking on his greasy fingers in front of you in line.....
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