Cart Peeping

My grocery cart. January 2013.

The man in front of me in the check-out at my local London Safeway placed on the belt three gallon-sized jugs of heavy cream and four pints of mushrooms.

That was years ago. Since then, I've developed the slightly odd practice of noticing what people have in their carts at the grocery store. Not to be nosy or judgmental, but to craft little stories about why people would need the items they've selected and how they plan to use them.

What, for example, would a man need with such a volume of heavy cream and sliced mushrooms? For cream of mushroom soup? If so, wouldn't he need at least some broth to cut the cream? Let's say he had broth at home. Why would someone make cream of mushroom soup in that quantity?

Why does this guy have twelve frozen pizzas, a steam cleaner for rent, and a loofah—and nothing else?

How will this woman employ her flax seed, doughnuts, and sack of frozen white fish?

My stories are unlikely to be even slightly accurate. If I learned the real purposes of the items ready for purchase, I'd likely be disappointed by how obvious they are.

Turnabout is fair play: Sometimes I peep at my basket and wonder what it says about me--and what story I'd make up to combine my items. (And yes, this practice makes me self-conscious when my basket contains, say, a slice of cake, Epsom salts—hey now, I’m a runner—frozen strawberries, and peanut butter.)

What might your cart say about you?