Observation: The Wegmans Bully

One of the perks of living in the Ithaca area is Wegmans. You may laugh and think, “how much fun can a grocery store be?” Well if you go to Wegmans, than you know. Not only is it a grocery store, but it has just about everything. From kitchen ware to lawn chairs, Wegmans has got it all. Even the customers and employees appear to be happy shuffling along the store. Outside of Wegmans, it’s a different story.

Cars slowly make their way through the parking lot of Wegmans hoping for the closest spot in proximity to the store. Tensions rise when this is not an option and cars with disgruntled drivers/passengers circle the lot like snakes awaiting to catch their pray. In this case, a parking spot. The driver in a silver Nissan Altima found hope in the distance. With her eagle eye, she spotted an available parking space not too far from where she was looking. Without hesitation, she accelerated the car, dodging pedestrians and shopping carts. As she turned the car left into the parking spot she anxiously waited for, there was an interference to her parking mission.

A mean green minivan parked to the right of her had its passenger door wide open, preventing the Nissan Altima from completely  parking. The woman in the Nissan Altima slowly inched her way into the spot cautiously to avoid a collision. All of a sudden, “SLAM!” The mean green minivan’s door shut, but no driver was in sight. Immediately, the Nissan Altima woman drove into the spot and successfully completed her parking mission. After turning the car off, the woman in the Nissan Altima quickly got out and briskly walked towards the Wegmans entrance. As she turned around to assure herself she locked her car, the driver in the mean green minivan got out of her car. Her boots hit the pavement so aggressively, there was no way this woman wanted a pleasant Wegmans experience. As the Nissan Altima woman turned back around towards the store, she heard “HEY LADY!” in a raspy, almost monster-like tone. It was the mean green minivan woman and she had something to say. The Nissan Altima woman curiously turned back around, unaware of who or what exactly was talking to her. “You almost hit my car!” she said as she made her way closer to the Nissan Altima woman. “Lady! You almost hit my car!” she repeated, perhaps to make her statement more effective. Bewildered as to what was happening, the Nissan Altima woman merely stared at the Wegmans bully causing her trouble. “I was trying to get into the parking spot,” she replied back. The Wegmans bully was not ready for their encounter to end. “You could have broken my door by how reckless you were driving,” the Wegmans bully said.Shaking her head, the Nissan Altima woman was not ready to sink to the bully’s level. The Nissan Altima woman’s hands tightened around her keys and purse as though she had enough. “I didn’t!” she said, “Am I supposed to apologize for almost doing something?” she asked the Wegmans bully.

Before the Wegmans bully could respond, the Nissan Altima woman proceeded to Wegman’s for the final time without looking back. “You could have hit…” the Wegmans bully said and then stopped. It was too late. The automatic doors of Wegmans were already closed. The Nissan Altima woman did not hit the mean green minivan, but the Wegmans bully needed to start a fight.