You know there’s something kind of special about those old mom and pop stores that are disappearing way too fast. I remember going to Arakawa’s as a kid buying my very first baseball bat, glove and cup. Years later who would have thought that I would end up sitting next Mr. Arakawa (of Arakawa’s) at football games? He’s such a nice old man. It’s sad to see men like him go out of business because they can’t keep up with the Wal-Mart’s and Costco’s of the world.

So today I had to go to Costco to buy some things for the Courtyard Cafe. No big deal right? I mean it’s Thursday and it shouldn’t be too crowded. WRONG! I didn’t realize it, but today was the first day of the coupon sale. Augh! It was so crowded. It was like Christmas time crowded. There were cars waiting for (stalking) people to go to their cars and leave so they could take their parking space.

Well, after driving around for a bit, I found a good spot (kind of far but in the shade) next to the cart return. Nice! I only drove around for 5 minutes and I just happened to see this guy leaving. It was almost too good to be true! No one was around and he was leaving and so I turned on my blinker and got set to snatch a good spot. Actually, I did get the spot with no problems (see: no drama) and I went into Costco to buy my things.

I’ve always wondered how the parking lot can seem so crowded and yet the store doesn’t seem crowded at all. Not to say that the store was empty, but it didn’t see too bad. Apparently everyone was leaving when I was shopping. I didn’t think about it at the time, but everyone leaving probably left with shopping carts and those shopping carts have to go somewhere. Well what do you think happens when that little cart return fills up? I’ll tell you, it overflows! This is what I saw when I returned to my car from shopping for 20 minutes in Costco:

Not just one, but like 20 people decided to leave their carts right in front of my car!

I couldn’t believe that people could be so thoughtless! How did they think I could get out? Would I crash through like Knight Rider? Of course not! I mean, even if I could move the carts where would I put them?

With a silent sigh, I had to walk all the way back to Costco to find a parking lot attendant to move those carts. Here’s a better view so you can see how blocked in I was.

If only I had turbo boost…

But of course there is the funny side of being a big box retailer. Sometimes you have to move so much inventory and they’re in such big boxes you don’t really care what hits the floor. I mean, it could be in good condition or bad condition. It could be properly marked or improperly marked. In case you’re wondering what I mean by improperly marked, I saw this little gem at Sam’s Club.

Not real sure what they’re selling, but I don’t think I want any

I bet that kind of stickering never happened at Arakawa’s (at least not on Goro’s watch).

Well, hopefully I’ll be able to share with you what has been happening the past few weeks. It’s been busy. I did see a Tiger Shark when I went diving (no, I didn’t have to cut anyone and swim away) and I also spent a day at the Children’s Church camp. I’ll try to post more pictures and stories soon. Until then, go buy some Jelly Ass and bring it to church so I can sample.