(no subject)
I am at home, where it is clear that I have forgotten several of the customs that govern everyday life. This morning I went to the grocery store to buy groceries. The cashier rung up my purchases and then the bag girl bagged my groceries. At this point I began to load the groceries into the cart and wheeled the cart out of the store only to be looked at in horror by most people inside: I had forgotten that you NEVER take your own groceries to the car, that is the task of the lowly bag-boy (or sometimes, as here, girl) who will wheel your groceries to your car and arrange them in the back seat or trunk in hopes of getting a dollar or fifty cents. Ah the luxuries of a service and hospitality culture. No bagging or groceries and no self-serve pumps. Buses without formal schedules that will pick you up anywhere on the road that you wave to them and deposit you whenever you care to shout out "bus stop." Some things are still better here.