Brilliant! I'd also recommend that if you've just parked and are walking towards the store, and you see someone who appears to need some extra help, or has small children, you can ask them if you can take their cart back for them. It takes about 10 seconds. I'm on the autism spectrum and I like order, so I've been know to push the carts in the corral into order when they're in disarray. It also bothers me when people can't seem to figure out that the smaller carts should go in one side and the larger carts in the other side.
I live in a college town where the Target is within easy walking distance via one of the bike paths. When hubby and I go out walking, we sometimes find Target shopping carts left behind by someone who needed it to get their purchases home. We've often grabbed the carts, rolled them along the bike path, and dropped them off on our way home. Hey, a little extra exercise for us, on top of that glow from doing a mitzvah.
Since I am disabled, walking is very painful, so I use an electric cart where available. Most times, if I can get a handicap parking space, I will take it back into the store after I’ve unloaded my groceries. Unfortunately, there are rarely any of those spaces available.
Hi Sharon, in my view there are folks that I am glad to rescue their cart for them. Moms with small kids, and folks that it is hard to return the cart. We are one community and we help one another.
In other acts of service, as a dog owner, I often do a courtesy pickup of other dog’s poops when time allows. I already have the poop bags and have gotten over the disgust factor, so why not?! I do it mainly to make people not have a bad day by stepping in dog poo.
Once, a long time agoc I was accused of not picking up my dog poop, and I don’t think I have ever been so outraged (ok, not til the Trump admin, but I mean outrages on a personal level.). I will use a leaf (or three) to pick up my dog’s poop, if need be. (I recommend the triple leaf method, if you ever need to do this. Just keep wrapping the poop in a little leafy bundle until it is secure. :)
When he parked and was walking towards the store, my father would always grab a cart and push it in where it belonged and it was amazing how many people would get annoyed at him. Some of the nicer things said:
“It’s not your job”
“It’s someone else’s mess”
“You didn’t leave it there”
And he would smile and keep going. He told me once,”I love doing the right thing and pissing people off”😂😂😂
I'm always in awe of the youthful staffers who can collect 6-8-even 10 carts and whoosh them through the parking lot in a smooth arc. I still feel virtuous, though, pushing my 1 or 2 back home, as you say. Not a Commie plot to demonstrate empathy!
Of all the things you've written, _this_ is what got me to subscribe so I can comment! :)
I just don't understand folks leaving their empty carts all over the place... but I will say that I see a LOT less of it here in N.E. Ohio, where I just moved to, than I saw in 25 years living in the Bay Area, California. There, I'd see people abandon carts just ten feet from the myriad little cart corrals all over the parking lot. Pushing them the length of their car, up onto the curb, instead of almost the exact same distance to the cart corral. Why?!?!?
Here, folks nearly always seem to walk their cart to a corral, or back to the store, with a smile and a cheery "Hello!".
Oh Charlotte. This is beautiful. Exactly why I enjoy washing the dishes every night. But I fear there are people who *like* making chaos. I remember driving along a country road when the person in the car in front of me threw out of their car window first a full cup of (presumably) soda and second a bag of fries. I think that person enjoys making a mess for others to clean up. How do we reach and help people like this, people who would completely miss the joy of cart retun? That is a question I hope we can answer!
Am I correct in assuming some sarcasm here? Because the flip side is the vitriol people have for those who did not return their carts. The judgment. I return my cart 99.9% of the time. While there are those who won’t return their carts because “it’s not their job,” I think about the mom with a couple of kids that needed her full attention for whatever reason; I think about the person who got a phone call while shopping and has to rush off to take care of an emergency.
It does feel good to do that simple task. I just wish it wasn’t so “loaded.”
Brilliant! I'd also recommend that if you've just parked and are walking towards the store, and you see someone who appears to need some extra help, or has small children, you can ask them if you can take their cart back for them. It takes about 10 seconds. I'm on the autism spectrum and I like order, so I've been know to push the carts in the corral into order when they're in disarray. It also bothers me when people can't seem to figure out that the smaller carts should go in one side and the larger carts in the other side.
I think we may be twins or at least related because I feel and do the exact same thing!
Always!
My husband's best friend used to say, "What are we, heathens?" . Miss that man so much.
I live in a college town where the Target is within easy walking distance via one of the bike paths. When hubby and I go out walking, we sometimes find Target shopping carts left behind by someone who needed it to get their purchases home. We've often grabbed the carts, rolled them along the bike path, and dropped them off on our way home. Hey, a little extra exercise for us, on top of that glow from doing a mitzvah.
I always return my carts and you have forever transformed that for me into an act of joy! Thank you!
Since I am disabled, walking is very painful, so I use an electric cart where available. Most times, if I can get a handicap parking space, I will take it back into the store after I’ve unloaded my groceries. Unfortunately, there are rarely any of those spaces available.
Hi Sharon, in my view there are folks that I am glad to rescue their cart for them. Moms with small kids, and folks that it is hard to return the cart. We are one community and we help one another.
Kindness like yours is appreciated by those of us who can’t do as much as we used to do.
Charlotte, this is so true. I enjoy getting those extra steps, but you're totally right about the surprising satisfaction of returning the cart!
So it’s not just me then? Good to know. :)
In other acts of service, as a dog owner, I often do a courtesy pickup of other dog’s poops when time allows. I already have the poop bags and have gotten over the disgust factor, so why not?! I do it mainly to make people not have a bad day by stepping in dog poo.
Once, a long time agoc I was accused of not picking up my dog poop, and I don’t think I have ever been so outraged (ok, not til the Trump admin, but I mean outrages on a personal level.). I will use a leaf (or three) to pick up my dog’s poop, if need be. (I recommend the triple leaf method, if you ever need to do this. Just keep wrapping the poop in a little leafy bundle until it is secure. :)
I love you for this post as well as many others. Life’s little pleasures!! Thanks so much!
I feel like you left out the benefit of not being an asshole for leaving the cart for someone else to deal with.
Don’t forget about the joy of offering to take the cart of someone headed to the corral on your way into the store! The best!!
Wonderful stuff 😀
When he parked and was walking towards the store, my father would always grab a cart and push it in where it belonged and it was amazing how many people would get annoyed at him. Some of the nicer things said:
“It’s not your job”
“It’s someone else’s mess”
“You didn’t leave it there”
And he would smile and keep going. He told me once,”I love doing the right thing and pissing people off”😂😂😂
I'm always in awe of the youthful staffers who can collect 6-8-even 10 carts and whoosh them through the parking lot in a smooth arc. I still feel virtuous, though, pushing my 1 or 2 back home, as you say. Not a Commie plot to demonstrate empathy!
Of all the things you've written, _this_ is what got me to subscribe so I can comment! :)
I just don't understand folks leaving their empty carts all over the place... but I will say that I see a LOT less of it here in N.E. Ohio, where I just moved to, than I saw in 25 years living in the Bay Area, California. There, I'd see people abandon carts just ten feet from the myriad little cart corrals all over the parking lot. Pushing them the length of their car, up onto the curb, instead of almost the exact same distance to the cart corral. Why?!?!?
Here, folks nearly always seem to walk their cart to a corral, or back to the store, with a smile and a cheery "Hello!".
Oh Charlotte. This is beautiful. Exactly why I enjoy washing the dishes every night. But I fear there are people who *like* making chaos. I remember driving along a country road when the person in the car in front of me threw out of their car window first a full cup of (presumably) soda and second a bag of fries. I think that person enjoys making a mess for others to clean up. How do we reach and help people like this, people who would completely miss the joy of cart retun? That is a question I hope we can answer!
Am I correct in assuming some sarcasm here? Because the flip side is the vitriol people have for those who did not return their carts. The judgment. I return my cart 99.9% of the time. While there are those who won’t return their carts because “it’s not their job,” I think about the mom with a couple of kids that needed her full attention for whatever reason; I think about the person who got a phone call while shopping and has to rush off to take care of an emergency.
It does feel good to do that simple task. I just wish it wasn’t so “loaded.”