red owl grocery store

standing in the entryway to the mall you could see into the grocery store. the checkout lines leading out into the common space of the mall. rectangular shopping carts with their flip up baskets lined the hallway. and the big smiling red owl on the sign above.

looking in you could see the freezer section and the wire bin of inflated plastic balls. the tall shelves reaching up into the ceiling. it was somewhat dingy with it's flourescent lights and old lineolum floors, but it was homey too.

at the end of the line of registers was always a large display - perhaps watermelons or boxed cereal - it stood visible to all in the mall beckoning for the shoppers to come. just behind it was the part of the grocery store with coloring books and small plastic toys - where children showed their wanting unabashed.

one time when i was maybe five or six i got lost in the grocery store. interested in some food item or other person i lost track of my mother and soon was completely separated from her. immediate panic set in. i don't even recall trying to look for her - i just began to sob. as it turned out this tatic worked. a friendly adult arrived and soon so did my mother.

that experience gave the red owl grocery store added meaning for me. it was as if i'd climbed a mountain there - i had been faced with hardship and fear and i had made it. in amidst the bakery cases and the toilet paper, the red owl grocery had a hidden air of adventure.

-kmj