Blocking the Aisle

Have you ever noticed at the supermarket, there are certain people who consistently block the aisle? Standing there for minutes on end, trying to decide on which of two cans of peas to get. Standing there endlessly, gabbling loudly with a friend. Standing there lost in thought, blankly staring, meditating on various cuts of meat. And often with their shopping cart held out unnecessarily at a right angle, so as to set up a roadblock across the full width of even the widest aisle. Or wheeling their cart right down the middle of the aisle, so there's no room to get by them on either side.

And utterly oblivious to the presence of anyone else. Blithely unaware of the rest of us, who can't get past their mindlessly imposed barricade.

Most people you encounter at the supermarket aren't like this. They're aware of others' presence. Courteous. They follow the rules of the road. But it seems on any shopping trip you always run into one or two of the other type, the aisle-blockers.

And the same individuals are guilty of blocking you over and over again in aisle after aisle. Often they're elderly. Often they're lost in a cloud. Often as if the notion of coexisting in the same limited space with others is completely foreign to them. Always supremely annoying.