Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Occasionally, I have a list of errands involving several stops around the city. One of the joys of retirement is the flexibility of time for accomplishing what needs to be done. Monday morning is often good for completing tasks in a timely manner as the crowds are few.

Last week Monday I organized my list of errands and assembled my bits and bobs for traipsing across hill and dale. First stop, the local drug store to buy a mailer, stuff it with its intended contents and hit the service desk to mail it. I found the correctly sized mailer and rambled over to my hangout in the grill department. The side tables on the grills make good desks so I can finalize stuffing and addressing envelopes.

I queued up behind a bright and cheery at the service desk. She seemed to know the two clerks at the counter as they chatted about the recent weekend's big sale. One perk of the big sale was free scratch cards that offered a variety of prizes. One of the clerks said, "We have lots of them left. I'll get them so you can pick one."

I truly wasn't interested in taking time for this process. My background is filled with participation awards at best. Winning prizes has never been part of my resume. The clerk was insistent, however, that I choose a card along with the customer ahead of me. I took a card and rummaged around in my purse for a coin. As I scratched the silver veil away from the secret prize offering I gradually saw the word winner. "Sure", I thought, "this will say something about being the winner of a chance in another drawing." Surprisingly, that was not the case. The rest of the message revealed that I won an eighty dollar gift card. I still was not convinced so I said, "I think I won something." The clerks and the other customer nodded sweetly as their thought bubbles said, "Duh, all the cards say winner."

One of the clerks looked at my card and let out a whoop. "Wow, you really did win something. I'll go get your gift card." By now, our little customer-clerk group had bonded over my moment of glory. The other customer grinned and commented that my demeanor really changed. In other words, I must have looked like a grumpy cat prior to my newly-attained riches. As we discussed the highs and lows of winning and lots of losing the other customer confessed that she was a winner, too. "I won a salted nut roll." We all giggled and agreed that a candy bar is never a loss.

I continued onward with my stops for the mornings. Tax office to drop off a few documents. Cable company to return a piece of weird equipment I do not know the name of. Target to purchase a few mundane items. And, back home again.

All in all, it was a profitable errand adventure. Now all I have to do is remember that I have a gift card and actually use it. Truth be told, the salted nut roll might have been a better fit for me but I will always enjoy the memory of my "big win."