Supermarket Sweep!

One of my favorite television shows used to be Supermarket Sweep. This game show was set in a grocery store, and after contestants played a variety of grocery themed games, they were afforded the opportunity to run through a supermarket to grab as much as they could within a designated time. I loved this show. Secretly, competing on this show was an ambition of mine. Although the show has been canceled, my dream survives.

Scott and I enjoy grocery shopping. We pour over coupons and sales circulars from a variety of stores in the quest for the best deal. We are not happy unless we leave the store with at least a savings of 50%. Our favorite bargains lie in the meat aisle. Yes, it is accurate to say that shopping for expiring meat has brought us closer.

Our grocery store offers deep discounts on meat which is getting ready to expire. Because we have a spare freezer, we are able to exploit these opportunities. Our freezer is stuffed with a variety of meat which has been deeply discounted. Yes, we are ready should a pandemic arise and we are forced to remain inside for several months!

Our meat sales have become a sense of pride for our little family. In particular, Scott relishes bragging to guests about how little the dinner cost to prepare. The Thanksgiving turkey my Mom prepared last week was from our freezer and cost only $3.20. Now that's a bargain!

The extreme discounts on meat products are indicated by the coveted "SPECIAL" sticker. This bright yellow sticker is our beacon, calling us to the sale. Robby has been indoctrinated into our bargain hunting ways. He becomes excited when he sees the "SPECIAL" sticker and enjoys putting the food into our cart.

Scott and I went to the grocery store the other day. We carefully examined the "sell by" dates on turkeys and turkey breasts. We marked the sell by date on our calendar and knew that the poultry would be marked down.

Robby was the first to see the yellow "SPECIAL" sticker. He spotted the stickers from four aisles away, and took off like a flash towards the meat case. By the time I reached him, he was happily pointing to the sale meat and jumping up and down. He began singing "Robby found the sticker... Robby found the sticker... Robby found the sticker... Robby found cheap meat hooray!"

Scott was tailing behind me, pushing the cart. After the traditional victory dance with Robby, I took note of the price. The turkeys were 19 cents a pound. My excitement got the best of me because I temporarily lost all sense of social decorum.

I yelled to Scott... This turkey breast is only $1.20. Scott froze and shouted back from across the island within the meat department, toss it here. And that is when it happened.

Instantly I went into my Supermarket Sweep mode. I tossed the bird to Scott who dropped it into the cart. He shouted, "How many are there?" I responded by telling him that there were seven, and tossed another turkey. Robby was jumping up and down screaming, "Yea... cheap boc boc turkey..."

I had thrown six turkeys before we noticed the commotion we had caused. Yes, people were stopped behind their carts, watching as a crazed one-legged woman with an excited toddler in tow was throwing poultry to her husband. We were caught up in the moment. We found a great sale.

Embarrassed by our demonstration, I opted to leave one turkey in the case. As Robby and I walked away, I saw one of our spectators claim the turkey. Robby continued to sing about finding cheap meat and stopped his song only to thank the butcher (who is familiar with our family) for the cheap food.

Unlike the contestants on Supermarket Sweep, we had to pay for our groceries. Six turkeys cost us only $8.90 and we felt victorious. We packed up our "cheap meat" and went home with our booty.