Last week in an 80-something.com post, I reported my experience standing behind a woman in a Whole Foods checkout line who did not have enough money to pay for all the groceries in her cart.  The cashier had to ask for help as she didn’t know how to undo the purchases one-at-a-time until the bill got down to the amount of cash the customer had.  In my blog post, I expressed my frustration at being delayed on what for me was an especially busy morning.

I was very pleased that several blog readers took the time to respond to this post, some indicating that they would have paid for the woman’s groceries. 

I discussed this situation with my son Jeremy. He gave me permission to share his thoughts:

“I think your story leaves out an important detail. I think it's important to note that the woman in front of you was not only shopping at an (extremely) high-end supermarket, she had an assortment of high-end bakery items, among other premium products. That fact makes a difference in how I (and perhaps some readers?) would have handled the situation.

What if this incident had taken place at Aldi, the bargain store where I do my shopping (and literally pay less than half what your daughter-in-law pays for "the same stuff" -- well, not quite! -- at Whole Foods)?  The Whole Foods shopper wanted to buy non-essentials she apparently could not afford. The Aldi shopper could more easily be considered "in need", doing the right thing, and perhaps therefore more deserving of support? I tend to lean that way.

I am pretty sure I'd not have paid for the gourmet baked goods (not being able to afford a luxury is a bummer, but not an issue to which I prefer to direct my philanthropy). But I like to think I'd have paid for the fruit, cheese, yogurt etc, at Aldi.”

I wonder what your readers think? 80-something or 50-something, neither of us is too old to evolve our behavior.

Love,

Me”