COPS

This post is actually being written by me, Becky. I think this is the first one I've actually written, but I have good reason this time. So yesterday I needed some "alone time" so I ventured out on my own to Wal-Mart to get an oil change on my car and to waste some time looking at bath towels and things. So I drop the car off with the ever-rude 16-year old working in the automotive department who tells me that it will take 60 minutes. That alone was annoying, but he failed to tell me that the 60 minutes started AFTER the entire automotive department was taking an hour-long lunch break. You'd think by going to get an oil change at 3 pm you'd miss the company-lunch break, but not at our "friendly" Wal-Mart. So anyways, I decide to wander around the store, check out the Clearance aisle, fun things like that. So I'm walking down the main aisle in the back of the store, the one with a right and left side with bins and displays down the center, right? So I'm walking, wondering what I'm going to do to pass the time when I remember that the Clearance aisle is to my right in this store so I make a somewhat sudden jolt from the left side of the walkway to the right side. Just as I do this, I look up to see that the person walking toward me is a police officer. So we make eye contact as I'm quickly crossing to get out of his way and into the right aisle. I thought for a split second about how it looked funny that I looked up and right as I saw him I bolted out of sight, but I didn't think about it too much as my eyes caught a handy foot stool that I've been needing.
I stop to look at the footstool and as I do, I see that the officer has followed me to the aisle and has stopped innocently at the end to all-of-the sudden stare up at the ceiling. So as I am examining the footstool and seeing how it folds and unfolds to fit nicely under my sink, the officer turns to get a good look at my suspicious person.
Anyways, I didn't get the footstool. I didn't even have a cart. Apparently this made me look even more guilty. Normally I get smiles and comments and feel very motherly as I shop at Wal-Mart with my two little girls, so it felt weird that he would even target me as suspicious.
So I finally make it to the clearance aisle where I thought I had lost him. I took my sweet time looking at everything from the opened bottles of lotion that they try to re-sell to the sheets and bedspreads. I actually found some things and had my hands loaded up with toys and junk as I moved my way on to find a cart to dump them in. As I walk away I see that indeed, I had not lost the nice officer, he was just waiting on the other side of the aisle until I was done, which now I was, so he slowly turned to follow me to the front of the store. Of course on this day no one had decided to abandon their cart so I had to go to the doors at the front and again, as my luck would have it, the only free carts were on the other side of the detectors that beep if you take things out without paying for them. So I walk to the other entrance to see if there are any carts there, again, no luck. So this cop is still behind me and sees me go to one entrance, stop, turn around and go to the other entrance, with the still un-paid-for items in my hand. Anyways, to wrap things up, there was no arrest and no pat down. I eventually lost him. I did however, get two house keys made while I sat and waited for the oil change on my Toyota Corolla.