Within ten miles of our home, situated in a typical suburban shopping center, sits the "Buy in Bulk" Super Club store, inviting the gullible to walk through its doors and take advantage of all of the supposed "huge savings."
If you look closely as you approach the entrance to the Super Club store, you'll notice a small sign fastened to the door. This sign carries a very clear message:
Bob Weinstein Not Permitted
Yes, that's right. My husband Bob is banned from the "Buy in Bulk" Super Club store!
Why, you may ask?
For the answer, I take you down memory lane to the first year of our marriage. On the way home from work one day, Bob decided to peruse the aisles of our local Super Club store. While perusing, he determined that our cozy family of 3 desperately needed a 10-gallon jug of maple syrup, which of course, was on sale.
Just how many pancakes he thought my step-daughter Jessica and I were going to eat, I'll never know. (My daughter Melissa, now 16, had not come along yet)
To this day my Bob is mesmerized by the concept of buying in bulk...even though the only people who live under our roof are Bob, Melissa, and me (Jessica is now happily married). Oh, and I suppose I should also include our cat, since Bob insists on buying in bulk for him too. (The darn kitty will be munching Friskies until the next Millennium)
I'm not sure why bulk buying holds such allure for Bob, but it may have to do with growing up as one of 10 children (4 belonged to his mom, 6 belonged to his step-father). Every night at his dinner table, 20 little hands grabbed for the grub. If you didn't take charge, go in head first and act quickly, all would be gone.
Perhaps that's why, some 4 decades later, he's afraid we'll run out of... everything. Our weekly trips to the supermarket turn into an argument within every aisle. Armed with his envelope of coupons, Bob sets out to do battle. While in contrast, my goal is to:
Seek.
Find.
Pay.
Leave.
It's not unusual for Bob to come home every single week, with:
48 roles of toilet paper. ("We'll use it!")
12 bottles of diet coke ("We'll drink it!)
5 cartons of zip lock plastic bags. ("We'll store it!")
15 jars of soup (We'll eat it!")
Usually I just sigh, put up with Bob's "Buy in Bulk" mentality and make room on the shelves for all of the things we don't need. However, I reached my boiling point with the coffee.
Yes, the coffee. The 7 ounce container of instant coffee that normally sells for $13.
A fortune, I know.
However, every other month or so the super market or local drug store will offer a half price sale on the coffee. When Bob learns of this fantastic bargain opportunity, he is first in line at the store the day the deal goes into effect, and he comes home with as much coffee as he can carry (or as much as the store will allow him to buy).
Over the past few months, it seemed the store has offered the half price coffee more often than not, causing my husband to make his frequent pilgrimage to the store, salivating with excitement with each successful purchase.
I made room in the pantry for 3 containers. Then 6. Then 9.
"Stop buying the coffee!" I exclaimed in exasperation.
"But they are on sale, and we use them," came his attempt at a rebuttal.
I made room in the pantry for 12 containers. Then 15.
"BOB IF YOU BUY ANY MORE COFFEE I WILL SHOVE IT UP YOUR YOU KNOW WHAT!"
Still, he didn't listen.
Perhaps that's why, some 4 decades later, he's afraid we'll run out of... everything. Our weekly trips to the supermarket turn into an argument within every aisle. Armed with his envelope of coupons, Bob sets out to do battle. While in contrast, my goal is to:
Seek.
Find.
Pay.
Leave.
It's not unusual for Bob to come home every single week, with:
48 roles of toilet paper. ("We'll use it!")
12 bottles of diet coke ("We'll drink it!)
5 cartons of zip lock plastic bags. ("We'll store it!")
15 jars of soup (We'll eat it!")
Usually I just sigh, put up with Bob's "Buy in Bulk" mentality and make room on the shelves for all of the things we don't need. However, I reached my boiling point with the coffee.
Yes, the coffee. The 7 ounce container of instant coffee that normally sells for $13.
A fortune, I know.
However, every other month or so the super market or local drug store will offer a half price sale on the coffee. When Bob learns of this fantastic bargain opportunity, he is first in line at the store the day the deal goes into effect, and he comes home with as much coffee as he can carry (or as much as the store will allow him to buy).
Over the past few months, it seemed the store has offered the half price coffee more often than not, causing my husband to make his frequent pilgrimage to the store, salivating with excitement with each successful purchase.
I made room in the pantry for 3 containers. Then 6. Then 9.
"Stop buying the coffee!" I exclaimed in exasperation.
"But they are on sale, and we use them," came his attempt at a rebuttal.
I made room in the pantry for 12 containers. Then 15.
"BOB IF YOU BUY ANY MORE COFFEE I WILL SHOVE IT UP YOUR YOU KNOW WHAT!"
Still, he didn't listen.
In an effort to figure out where to put all of these containers of the coffee, I decided to schedule my annual Cleaning of the Pantry.
I found coffee containers hidden inside a bowl, behind the flour, under the trash bags, next to the cereal, etc...
In fact, to prove to Bob just how large our incredible coffee collection had grown, I took the containers out of the pantry and lined them up - all 19 of them - on the kitchen floor!
At long last, I made my point!
When Bob saw his coffee containers lined up like little soldiers, he couldn't help but laugh.
He has since promised he will not purchase any more coffee until we are down to 3 containers.
So if you happen to drive by my house and spot my hubby lying on our front lawn covered in coffee grinds, you'll know he broke the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment