Hi-Viz

She wore a Hi-Viz vest as she pushed her trolley towards the supermarket entrance.

At first I wondered whether she was perhaps a trolley-person, but no, her handbag was slung over her shoulder and she walked with the purpose of somebody on a tight schedule.

Whilst I commended her on her commitment to safety, I did think perhaps she was over-anxious when considering the hazards of the suburban grocery store.

Until I thought about it…imagine the advantages, it would open up a whole new world of time-saving opportunity.

People (like myself) would mistake her for the trolley collector, leaping out of the way courteously as she neared the trolley bay. She could have her pick of the bunch.

‘Nope, that one has a grubby handle’

‘Nope, dodgy noisy wheel that announces your arrival’

‘Nope, wilted lettuce leaf and dead tissue in the bottom of that one’

‘Yes! Shiny and new, effortlessly gliding wheels, glistening with cleanliness’

Then upon entering the store:

First to be served at the deli counter, despite the thirty other people clutching their precious shopping lists and numbered tickets – Hi-Viz captures the attention of the otherwise busy staff.

'Oh hello, you were first? How can I help you?'.

The ability to take a shortcut past the ‘Caution Wet Floor’ signs when everyone else has had to take the detour and get caught up in that trolley jam near the sardines, you know the type, they park on one side and browse the shelf opposite for 22,000 minutes reading every label to see which one has the lowest sodium content whilst your passage forward is blocked – Hi-Viz poised for danger.

A plethora of free samples from all of the in-store demonstrators, yoghurts in those cute little cups, chipotle chicken on a handy toothpick, freshly pickled rollmops, a time-share holiday near that Kazakhstan oil field – Hi-Viz, ready and present.

Never having her ankles run into by a reckless trolley driver (probably that sardine browser now looking for three-ply) – Hi-Viz, slow down and keep left.

Venturing out the back of her own accord to find the items that are out-of-stock on the shelves – Hi-Viz, authority in the workplace.

Getting to the checkouts where all of the deli-customers now congregating (three deep in queue), where she is selected to move to the ‘now opening’ checkout – Hi-Viz, priority express service.

She efficiently paid for her goods and strode confidently through the carpark pushing her trolley as the lines of cars expertly parted like the waters of the Red Sea.

I watched from the back of the queue with my deli-items…Hi-Viz envy!