Where Did That Come From?

Yes here I am again blogging while in New Orleans. Don't give me any crap about it....I have already been outside for a few hours walking around and sweating a few pounds off. In fact - BigGuy blew off the opening of the conference this morning so we could walk down Royal and get breakfast at this place that I found yesterday. Apparently there are tons of them - it seems there are a lot of small chains within the French Quarter itself. And it is already unbearably hot. I am not sure what it is exactly, but the heat makes me not at all hungry - yet I knew I needed to eat so we went for breakfast. Now I can probably skip lunch.

How do visitors eat a bunch of food when they are here? All I can really handle is a salad and I am craving fruits. Yesterday I went into several of the little deli's and non-sit-down restaurants to find a small salad and fruit to take back to the hotel. I did find little pre-made fruit salads, but they were charging $100 for them (okay - not really $100, but about $7.50ish......which is a weeks worth of fruit from the grocery store). So then I started chatting locals up and asked someone where people in the French Quarter shop for groceries. Took the directions and then later in the evening when walking about with BigGuy stopped in for some fruit and veggies to keep in the room. Still the fruits were expensive ($5.75 for a container of strawberries that at home would cost 2 for $4.00) - but I picked up a few banana's and some plums and carrots for snacking on.

By the time we were in the store it was about 9:30pm. We are in line and there were really quite a few people checking out. I was fairly surprised by how busy it was. As we were being waited on did what I normally do and chatted the checker....this is how I know all the checkers back home by name.

"Wow it is really busy here tonight." was my opening. I wasn't looking for a big conversation - just wanted to acknowledge the guy. He was a nice normal looking guy. He looked like he could own a grocery store. Mid height, kinda balding, cleanly shaved, responsible looking.
"Yeah well it isn't that unusual for a Sunday night really." he said back.
"Well isn't it Monday?" was what I came back with - not to correct him, but really for my own benefit because without kids I am starting to lose a bit of track of the days - as I said this I looked at BigGuy to get confirmation on the date.........but the checker didn't seem to hear me...he kept talking....
"It is all relative really. I mean I could be on some tanker in the middle of Iraq being bombed and worried about my life."
"Oh, well yeah." I responded.......how do you respond to that? although I don't think I was supposed to or that he was hearing me because he kept talking.....
"You know I am really lucky to be working in a store even if it is busy because there are so many out there who might lose their lives because of the wars.".......and then he was done with me and onto the next customer.

BigGuy and I walked out silently, but as soon as we cleared the doors I looked at him and said, "Where did that come from?" and BigGuy burst out with a giggle and shook his head and we both kinda repeated parts of what he said.

Those are the times that you really really wonder what someone else is thinking.