So, this fat old lady cuts in front of me at the Los Altos Whole Foods meat counter…

After a few seconds I say loudly to the clerk “I’m next in line, please do not let anyone else cut in front of me.”

“Oh sorry, we’re you in line? I didn’t see you!” The fat old lady said in pretentious seriousness.

This is one very maddening experience just because there are three Chinese looking people standing in line, and all Chinese people look alike, it doesn’t mean that three separate Chinese people are the same person! We’re all in line and we each get a turn. And yes, you are thinking but she could have legitimately thought you were all in the same.e family. With three separate shopping carts, it would be a very insulting scenario she has in her mind for a family of Chinese to push three shopping carts! What are we like pigs and eat a cart full of food each?!

Some days, it’s kind of important to put on that smile and carry on like the world doesn’t have any gunk like I just see.

Whole foods used to be so friendly… Perhaps this also speaks to Amazon’s ownership?

This past weekend we went to buy some chickens from a local poultry vendor. Wow, that was like a very sad experience. I drove an hour with my daughter to her store . She tries to sell us heat lamp and feed stuff. When I looked down to check her prices versus Amazon’s, I got an earful of anti-competition rant about how Amazon squeezed everyone out. “I’m not going to tell you anything about these chickens if you ask for Amazon’s prices.”

I started to talk capitalists sense into her, to explain price competition is good. Organized production is more prolific… But I thought better of it. I fear various kind of retribution for additional expression of disagreement. In this wilderness, maybe her gang of crew can come chasing after me with their ATV’s and pitch forks,… Or guns,… Who knows what could happen.

I put on a smile and paid full price.

It was only a smile and extra money to pay to facilitate the happiness of the people we care about. Hopefully all that politics doesn’t get in the way of our common pursuit of individual happiness.