A Senior Discount on Humble Pie
Yesterday afternoon I was in the neighborhood of a lovely grocery store that I rarely get to visit, so I decided to go in and pick up a few things. I wandered the aisles admiring the beautiful displays of cheeses (fresh mozzarella), fish (two freshly made salmon burgers), vegetables (scallions and tomatoes on the vine), and baked goods (raisin and cranberry rolls).
I smiled at the teenage girl at the register as I began unloading my basket. An older worker noticed that the girl rang my rolls up as scones and helped her correct the mistake. The woman walked away, and the girl held up my bunch of scallions. “What is this?” she asked. I told her, and she found and punched in the code. She recognized the tomatoes, and the cheese and salmon burgers had prices on the containers, so she had no problem ringing up the remaining items.
As I loaded the groceries into my bag, the girl at the register totaled up my order. I took out my credit card to pay and, as I did so, I noticed a small sign by the credit card processing machine. It said that Tuesday was Senior Citizen Day, and that seniors got 5 percent off on all orders. I smiled and thought, one day. Then I read the small print that said seniors were people who were 60 and over.
I turned 60 last October. Since I look young for my age, most people think I’m a lot younger. And I feel a lot younger. I definitely do not feel like a senior citizen. Still the discount was tempting.
I inserted the credit card. Should I ask for the discount? I wondered. Would the cashier ask for my ID? Would she be annoyed that she had to go back and redo the order? I didn’t want to be a pain, as it was only 5 percent, probably a dollar off my purchase. But still, it was the first time I’d ever qualified for a senior discount like this. I felt like I had to take advantage of it.
“Excuse me,” I said, ready to reach for my license to show that I was, indeed, 60 years old. “Is it too late to ask for the senior discount?”
The girl who was probably 16 to my 60 didn’t look up from the register. “I already put it in,” she said.
“Oh,” I said. And as I left, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’ve chosen laughter, as well as to head back there next Tuesday. The salmon burgers were delicious.
