Lee and Ken are alive and well and living in Nova Scotia

 Well, we had a first yesterday at BL. My half full cart went awol. I was apparently far too involved in selecting the perfect ham, turned and there it wasn't. Now, this was not an empty cart nor did it have only one or two items. It was half full. It had a very large cantaloupe in the area small children position themselves to torture their parents. The cantaloupe approximated child size and there was a moment of relief that I hadn't been traded for someone's offspring. But there was also no trade in evidence. My cart had vanished. I searched the deli area thinking someone may have objected to its positioning and moved it - even an aisle away. I checked the bakery area - nope, not there. I mentioned my quandary to a great Costco employee who, with me, took up the search. There was a suspiciously lonely cart sitting next to the baked goods but the only thing our two carts had in common was a box of swiffer duster refills. This cart was more replete than was mine and included clothes, different fruits and vegetables and, most tellingly, in place of my special cantaloupe, there were shopping bags - cloth bags that were notable in that they were not Costco nor did they seem to be from a local store. Antennae up, I watched this cart for a while but nobody came to collect it. My Costco friend and I continued our search - to the checkouts, to the abandoned cart area (yes, there is an abandoned cart area) and all points between, me carrying that ham in hopes that it could be joined with its preselected yet to be made friends who were to have come home with us (my husband had a separate list and, ladies, I do recommend this strategy as it leaves you to actually shop rather than listen to sighing and 'are we done yet' comments harking back to your childhood). He was, of course, long gone - checked out and in the vehicle so unable to be pressed into Bloodhound service. And yes, there was passing thought that perhaps I should start over but that was beyond me - also would have been less productive since I had snaffled the last of those lovely chandelier bulbs for the day that Energy NS had on sale for half price! And there was the cantaloupe!!! Ready to throw in the towel, and having moved from surprise, through determination to resignation and now downright grumpy, I was returning the ham when, lo and behold - there was my cart sitting in splendid isolation in front of the yogourt. And yes, we had been up and down that aisle several times. In went the ham and off I went to the cash - asking the cart where the heck it had been and what it had been up to. My husband, on coming to help unload, mentioned that the lines must have been long by the time I got to the cash. He was a bit unprepared for the diatribe that followed. And, on the drive home, I realized that not only had the cart gone awol but in its wanderings, it apparently determined that we did not need either the dill pickle salad nor the chicken taco meal because both were mia! What kind of person not only swipes your cart in the ham aisle, takes your cantaloupe for a spin but also returns the evening dinner?!!!