BARGAIN SHOPPER

December

It was one of those days when the sun was beating down with all its might. I walked to the store (which is practically next door) to buy a coke but ended up taking more than 30 minutes. There was a sweet 67 year old lady ahead of me. She would tell the 10 year old behind the counter what she wanted and Rocio would get it – item by item. As I waited I struck up a conversation. The lady had walked 2 hours to San Francisco just to buy a few things. She loaded up 5kilo of sugar in her burlap sack along with 6 bottle of whisky, a 5 kilo sack of rice, a couple boxes of yerba, a 2 liter bottle of honey, and a few other odds and ends. She put the sack on her head and prepared to walk the 2 hours home. I said to her that I was surprised that she couldn’t get any of that stuff in the town where she lives. She said, “I can buy it there, but it is cheaper here.”



co 2008 Amy McKissick