Personal Narrative Essay-Self-Checkout Is Against My Religion

Self-Checkout Is Against My Religion
A grocery store is probably not the first place most people associate with entertaining stories, but in my family, there have been quite a few tales that revolve around our local Kroger. For instance, hearing my sister, Mary Jean, recount the loss of her beloved parking space when Kroger built their gas station has been the cause of much hilarity. Approximately two years ago, Mary Jean and I went to Kroger for just a few items, and found the place teeming with other shoppers. The holidays were approaching, so the lines were four or five shoppers long and more than a few of them had carts that were almost overflowing. The overhead lights were noticeably bright, compared to the overcast sky outside, and all
Mary Jean had, by that time, made friends with what seemed to be at least half of Kroger’s employees. Whenever she went grocery shopping, she would have conversations with the checker, the bagger and the guy putting out the produce! Nor were these the glib exchanges so rampant in our society routinely (such as answering by rote, “I’m fine,” when asked how we are, regardless of what our actual condition may be). When Mary Jean talked to her friends at Kroger, they would actually tell her if they were exhausted, excited or having trouble making ends meet. But they only answered so honestly because she showed that she cared and was happy to receive more than just the pat answer. In the beginning, she opened the door for conversation by facetiously complaining about losing her favorite parking space to a filling station. Not everyone understood that she was joking, but many did, and once they decided that she wasn’t completely insane, they started to talk to her, genuinely like her, and miss her when she wasn’t there. ??? Even now, when I go shopping by myself, at least two Kroger employees ask where Mary Jean