Mary, Mary . . .

. . . How Could You ?

Recently a lady I know quite well (I'm calling her Mary to conceal her real identity) had a very embarassing incident while she was shopping in Sam's, a big place in Albuquerque where one can buy pretty much anything.

Embarrassing to her but to me, prety dawgone funny and I think you'll laugh with me once you read this yarn!

Up and down the many aisles Mary went, tossing in items she needed for a next few days' meals until in one aisle she stopped to read the instructions on some box of something (not very many women, in my mind, read instructions).

While she was reading, another customer may have moved Mary's shopping basket a bit in order to reach an item she wanted to purchase or maybe Mary forgot where her cart was parked.

Anyway, the other lady moved away from her basket, Mary stopped reading, turned quickly and took off with a basket of groceries. Aisles later Mary put a couple more things in the cart and then looked again, noting items she didn 't remember buying.

Continuing along, she pondered again "why did I put those things in the cart?" And then: "Oh Lord, this is not my basket."

She rushed back to the last aisle where she remembered reading those instructions, found her cart there, transfered the couple of items she had picked up into her own basket which was still there, and took off, leaving the other half -filled cart which she recognized as belonging to the other shopper.

If the other lady was still in the same aisle, Mary did not stop to ascertain. Mary is still wondering what the other shopper must have been thinking if she had returned to her basket and had not found it.

Mary, why aren't you laughing?

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