Ethyl and Gladys Do Wal-Mart

I saw the epitome of the statement "Getting old ain't for sissies," tonight in Perry. Apparently to reach 70 in Perry you have to be pretty tough and self-sufficient.

I was in the Wal-Mart in Perry and I saw two seventy-something year old ladies (we'll call them Ethyl and Gladys) standing by a metal non-supported case in the middle of the aisle. The next thing I see is Gladys (or Ethyl) starting to climb the case to get to the stop shelf. I yell as I briskly walk toward them, "Can I help you?" Gladys steps down from the first shelf as Ethyl says "Yes, can you get us that thing of pineapple?" I stretch to reach up and secure the pineapple. I grab two so they don't start climbing again when I leave.

I may have saved two ladies from badly broken bones but about an hour later I realized they had a couple of tubs of preserved cherries already in their carts. Pineapples? Cherries? Yikes! I had just contributed to the birth of a fruitcake!

Next time I do something like that I want to fully seal the deal and bring over a pack of cut and bake chocolate chip cookies and say, "These are what those crazy kids are eating for the holidays these days!" Some grandkid will thank me someday.