Much ado about Grocery Shopping

My first mistake of the day was crossing the tracks to go grocery shopping. Tiring of the usual Super Target and all it has to offer in the grocery department, I opted for my new favorite...HEB. (See two posts before) Using the handy GPS I saw that there was one not too far from our house, albeit on the other side of the tracks...literally AND figuratively. My reasoning for still going there after seeing where it was located, was that it wasn't really that far across the tracks. Just a little ways. It can't be that bad right?

Wrong.

First of all, I'm going to have to say that from now on I will judge a grocery store by the kinds of cars parked outside, i.e. Whole Foods=BMW, ghetto HEB=lowriders.

My second mistake of the day was ignoring the fact that just finding a parking place made me uncomfortable as I didn't want anyone to ding our vehicle. Finding a car that looked like the owner took care of it and wouldn't mess up my car to park next to was virtually impossible. Also with the second mistake I will say that ignoring the fact that there was an armed police officer stationed at the entrance of the HEB should have given me a clue to my experience inside.

Once inside I quickly glanced around and noticed that I had missed the memo that it was a No White Girl Zone. Seriously. It was like I had forgotten my Apple Bottom Jeans and boots with the fuuurrr that day or something. I won't say I wasn't paranoid, but people were staring....at me. The normally dressed one without the words Apple Bottom on my backside.

Long story short, this grocery store had absolutely nothing healthy for food. I wanted bananas and tofu. I got bananas, but contrary to the nice HEB about 30 miles away from here, it had no vegetarian food products whatsoever. It did, however, have a large section of beer of which every customer in there was partaking of and buying it with the money they had earned from waking the corner with a cardboard sign. Yes, it was that bad. Let's just say I told the kiddo to "Stay close" and I guarded the baby carseat with my life for fear of kidnapping or other atraucity.

Finally I got to the checkout with my three cans of pinto beans, a small container of ice cream, and some bananas. While waiting, I glanced through the selection of magazines. Let's see...the latest Lowrider magazine. Who even knew that that was a magazine? Not me. Then I glanced around at what other people were buying. Um....a 24 pack of miller highlife to the left... a couple of 40s to the right. I don't think anybody actually bought food there. Just beer to throw in the back of their ghetto 1982 lowrider with shiny rims.

While I'm always up for an experience while grocery shopping, I don't like them to be life threatening. I will probably stay the snobby white girl on this side of the tracks for awhile, at least when I have my kids in tow.

Let's just say that Here-Everything-is-Not-Better would have been a better name for the store.

And...there was no mascot to take a picture of. Too bad.