« Patron Saint of IT Dudes and Dudettes | Main | Vacation Time »
July 20, 2006
Dance Party
I was at Brown's Grocery in Midway, Ohio, oh, about 10 years ago.
According to the 2000 census the population of Midway is 274 and the village has a total area of 0.7 km. It is small. Charming, sure, but small.
Brown's Grocery is exactly what you'd expect to find in small town. It isn't a Wal-Mart. There aren't hundreds of people in there at a single time. Heck, there aren't tens of people in there at the same time.
On the particular day I was in there I'll put the count at two people: me and the person tending to the cash register.
In the back of the store there were two stand-up soda pop cases. One was probably full of Pepsi products and the other Coke. The fridges were set so that as I faced the Pepsi case and looked through the doors the Coke case was to my left. Between the two cases in the corner was a dead area.
I think you'll get a better feel for the layout if you take a moment to study the incredible illustration I've provided below.
I'm no Dave, but you've got to admit that my graphic makes you almost feel like you're there. And it's a little scary ... isn't it?
So there I stood. Looking into the Pepsi case. To my left along the wall was the Coke case. What do I want what do I want what do I want I kept thinking to myself. I did not open the glass door to make my decision. People do this all the time -- open the door and stand in front of the open fridge trying to make their decision. The doors are glass ... I can see through them ... I keep them shut. What do I want what do I want what do I want?
I knew it was going to be a Pepsi product.
What do I want what do I want what do I want? Is someone looking at me? Is someone looking at me from the area between the two coolers? The dead area that nobody could possibly fit in? That's a foolish notion.
Maybe a Diet Pepsi. Do they have the one-liter bottles? Maybe if I opened the door and let the cool air rush over my feet. No! Only idiots do that.
That cannot possibly be someone looking at me from the corner between the coolers. I'm not even going to look
I looked. Someone was there and I was so startled that I squealed. Not screamed. I squealed, as Dieter would say, like a leetle girl.
Just as quick as I squealed I realized the folly of my squealing. The person standing where nobody should have been standing was a life-size (someone's size, anyway) of Kramer from his stint as a Pepsi pitchman.
"Could you hear that up here," I asked the guy at the register.
"Yea. Did something get you?"
"Just the Kramer cutout."
Posted by delmer at July 20, 2006 12:09 AM
Comments
Yes, yes I DO feel like I was there. It was the purple cash register that did it for me. :-)
Posted by: Dave2 at July 21, 2006 8:45 PM
Please assure your artistic friends that I intend to retain my amateur status as a graphic designer/artist.
I don't want them to feel threatened by the power or sensuality of my artwork.
Posted by: delmer at July 22, 2006 10:18 AM