Yorkton, I love ya, but we’ve got to talk about a nasty habit you’ve developed.
I hope I’m not stepping out of bounds here. I know I’m still a newcomer around town (hence the title of my semi-coherent column). I know I’ve still got a lot to learn about the Prairies, country music, and denim before I’m a true resident.
But I like to think we’ve developed something of a rapport over the last six months. We’re comfortable with each other. We have an easy-going chemistry. Which is why I think I can offer some constructive criticism. Just remember: Everything I say in this column comes from a place of love. With that said...
Put your shopping carts away or I’m going to scream from the water tower.
Does that sound like a petty complaint? Don’t I have better things to write about? Oh, absolutely, but I never said I wasn’t petty.
I first encountered this problem back in October. I drove to Save-On-Foods for groceries and a last-minute pumpkin. As I parked my car, I noticed an abandoned shopping cart in the lot. The wind pushed it and it started rolling towards the nearby Canadian Tire.
It kept going and going, building up speed. Nothing got in its way as it hurtled across the pavement. It was a bullet screaming toward one target: A parked car.
I was too far away to catch up with the cart in time. I could only watch as it rumbled across the parking lot, ready to collide with the rear bumper of someone’s car.
“Oh, woe and tragedy, won’t someone stop that runaway cart before calamity befalls it?” I thought, but didn’t say because I’m not a soap opera character.
Thankfully, a good samaritan stopped the cart before it could pummel its target. Disaster was averted, but would it be next time?
Ever since that day, I’ve seen countless abandoned carts in parking lots across town. Usually they’re planted in the middle of a parking spot. They turn the lots into Canada’s Worst Driver-style obstacle courses.
Now, I understand we all have busy schedules. Most of us pop into stores, grab something, and rush out of there. Time is not on our side. We don’t always have the luxury of putting our carts back in their stalls.
But we need to make the time. A stray cart is an annoyance at best and a bumper denter at worst. They’re hazards we shouldn’t have to deal with.
So the next time you see a cart standing in a parking lot, guide it back to its stall. Who knows? You might be saving your car from the next runaway cart with a grudge against vehicles.
