Friday, July 22, 2016

My Super Market Moment


First off, let me emphatically state, I am a person who should sing in the shower, not in public. This doesn’t mean I don’t sing, especially if it’s one of those songs. You know what I mean. Everybody has one—perhaps even two or three—a song you simply can’t resist. For me, it’s Foreigner’s I Want To Know What Love Is. It doesn’t matter where I am or who I’m with. I take a big breath and let ‘er rip. Apparently lots of women feel as I do about this particular song. Hence, my super market moment.


Normally, I pay no attention to the background music as I browse the aisles of Safeway. All I want to do is grab the items on my list and get the heck out of the store. On this particular day, I was in the produce section when, hark! My song was playing. I tried to fight it. Truly, I did, but when I heard Lou Gramm’s soulful plea, his search for love, his desire to change his lonely life, it was all over. The chorus was coming up. I tried to resist, but the lyrics were bubbling up inside of me, demanding to be set free. Clutching the handle of my grocery cart, the song burst from my lips and I warbled, slightly off-key, along with Foreigner. I want to know what love is. I want you to show me.


Guess what happened next? Two other women joined in. Not only did they sing-along, they used various and sundry vegetables for make-believe microphones. One woman selected a cucumber. (Hmm, a little too phallic for me) I reached for a parsnip, but then thought, “Maybe I’ll have to buy it and I don’t like parsnips,” so I settled for an ear of corn.  The other lady grabbed a bunch of carrots. We sang. We swayed in sisterly solidarity, swept away on the wings of emotion. When we finished, the kid stacking bananas clapped for us.


Do you have a special song that goes to a deeply held emotional place and insists you sing along?