Let's try shopping in logical shifts

I have a dilemma. I attend school part time and work 40 hours a week. Any errands I need to run I have to do at lunchtime, after work, or when I'm not studying--which brings me to my dilemma.

Question 1 - Why do retired people have to be in the grocery store at 5 p.m. on Friday? I realize they have to eat too, but they are retired --which means they don't work. What are they doing the entire week that they have no time other than 5 p.m. on Friday to grocery shop? If this excursion is the most exciting time in their week -- they need a hobby. Not only do they block the aisles and get in everyone's way in the stores, but they are also on the road driving to and from the stores during rush hour.

Years ago when I heard that my oldest sister insisted my mother stay off the roads during rush hour, and also out of local restaurants at lunchtime when working people are trying to get a meal (another problem!), I thought it was pretty strange -- but now I'm beginning to see the wisdom in her demands.

Question 2 - Why do housewives insist on being in the grocery store at 5 p.m. with their children? And why do they allow said children to run through the store bumping into people? The woman ahead of me in the checkout had her two sons with her. The whole time she was in the checkout she scolded one of them loudly enough for other shoppers nearby to hear, when she should have been scolding the other one since he's the one who bumped into my cart when running through the store! And then there's the screaming 2-year-old in one woman's cart. Yes, that's one of my favorite things, too -- I really appreciate it when an inconsiderate parent inflicts their unruly children on the rest of us.

Maybe I should be doing my grocery shopping at 2 a.m.

Penny Novy

Buffalo Grove