I was hoping this wasn't going to be The New Normal. Then I went out to Target today.
I dealt with The New Normal at Target. Let me explain.
I hadn't physically bought any kind of card related product in two weeks. I skipped the monthly card show right before I went on vacation to South Carolina with my wife. I had planned this trip since last August so we could celebrate my wife's 65th birthday this past week. Wanted my wife to be with her brother and sister-in-law, and hopefully get her out for the evening to a nice dinner was the original plan months ago. The New Normal meant we ordered in pizza on her birthday and spent the evening watching a movie and playing cards.
We left a day early because the planned trip to see her sister on Saturday was cancelled because her husband has been sick for several months, and she didn't want to take the chance of having visitors come and spread something that they may or may not have had. Totally understandable. This is The New Normal after all.
Outside of a trip to the grocery store, I spent the next 3 days in my house. Socially responsible. The New Normal
Back to work on Wednesday, and when you work for a package delivery company and you've been out for a week and half while the country is turned upside down, you miss a lot. Wednesday through Friday was spent calling customers that may or may not have shuttered their businesses.
This again, is The New Normal for me.
Move on to today. I go to Target, do some grocery shopping and decide to pick up a couple of packs of baseball cards. Kind of jonesing because I hadn't bought anything in two weeks.
I go to the cash register, not self-checkout which was crowded. I hadn't gone to a regular register there in months, and today reinforced that decision. As I went from 18ft to 12ft to 6ft to being checked out, I put my items on the belt, and the cashier decides to say after our pleasantries "Oh I see you got your baseball cards huh?" in a sarcastic tone. Guess because it was a discretionary purchase it was something I shouldn't have picked up.
The New Normal.
Just to show that this is somewhat of a card related post, here's the serial numbered card I pulled from the two packs of 2020 Donruss. But that's not what this is all about.
The New Normal meant that I wound up feeling guilty about my purchase. The New Normal meant I had to keep quiet and not say anything to the cashier even though I was offended by her tone. The New Normal means that people are on edge now more than ever and even freer to say what they want to say. But not me.
The New Normal means I have to keep my temper in check. The New Normal means that card collecting may have changed for me, and a lot of others, for a long time. The New Normal means that all the trading that I've really enjoyed for the past 19 months has dwindled to nothing, again totally understandable.
I try to keep things positive, it's who I am. But I really don't like The New Normal.
I need a Remedy. Hopefully the Black Crowes can help me find one....
Enjoy the hobby, and please be safe!!
Robert
The New Normal sucks.
ReplyDeleteConfirmed.
DeleteAlso, New Normal or not. That cashier was out of line.
Wow. If the New Normal means being rude to customers, then I want to go back to the Old Normal as soon as possible. Like Tom said... that cashier was way out of line. You and any other collector out there has every right to buy cards right now. I know for me... cards help me cope with being confined to my home. It's therapeutic. I wonder if this lady would have used the same tone if you bought a board game for your family or a book to read. Ugh. Sorry for my little rant... but that cashier annoyed me.
ReplyDeleteThe Crowes have quite a few songs that are good for what ails you. Good choice with Remedy.
ReplyDeleteBut you were already there to buy groceries anyway? I don't see the issue.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the dude's name is Wander. That alone makes his card a keeper.
I agree with Fuji's comment, and the general sentiment that the New Normal sucks. Why should we deprive ourselves of a routine or a hobby if we don't absolutely have to? If the cards are on the shelf, for sale, then what's the harm in purchasing them?
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm glad I haven't hit my local Target in a while, because I would definitely have bought baseball cards.
As everyone has already said, that Gal was way out of line, but there seems to be more and more of those kind of people around in recent years, and given the great divide that our country is suffering from, I don't see their numbers decreasing anytime soon.
ReplyDelete