Incident

It was rather late at night and I had just finished watching "Rain Man" (which I'd found to be a disappointment). I was hungry, and I knew I had nothing of consequence to eat. There was rice, cheese, oatmeal and my hash browns. I could have eaten the hash browns, as I've done in the past, but eating those late at night robs me of the urge to do so the following morning, and I prefer to maintain the integrity of my breakfasts. I resolved to go out to the grocery store.

Once there, I saw that they had a container of assorted fried foods and sundries available, as they sometimes do. I could not resist it. After getting my contact lens fluid, I took the two items to the self checkout and intended to be on my way. Of course, it could not be so simple, and the complication was to be found at the bottom of the food container. It's important to note that you aren't always going to be able to tell what you've got until you start eating it.

This particular assortment included something rather odd. I've found macaroni, potatoes au gratin and similar items puzzlingly included in the past, but nothing like there was in this one. It was some manner of noodle soup, seemingly poured in there. I found this out when I flipped it over to scan it at the checkout. Some of the fluid spilled out onto the scanner, and for a few terrifying moments I tried to remedy the problem on my own with people behind me in line.

I was fortunate. As those people diverted to other machines, I had the good sense to get the help of the one cashier overseeing the automated checkout area. As if she'd dealt with such mishaps many times in the past (as no doubt she has), she got supplies and cleaned it up with little comment, leaving me to my devices once again. This time, I had the further good sense to rip the bar code sticker off the package and scan that. Life is a continual process of learning.