So, I'm wandering the aisles at Safeway with Chunk in tow, looking in vain for the soy sauce, when one of the Safeway guys waddles up to me, pushing a utility cart that's carrying soda bottles and rapidly melting ice cream.
"Want to buy a root beer float?" he asks. "The proceeds go towards Prostate Cancer."
So, suddenly Prostate Cancer is hard up and needs the cash? Okay, okay, I understood what he meant.
"No, thanks," I answer. "We're getting ready for dinner, but thanks!"
I aim my cart down the aisle and get ready to shove off, but he's persistent and steps in front of me. He shoves a flyer into my hand.
"We're having a free screening for men your age," he continues. "Next Friday. It's a great deal, because getting tested can be kind of expensive."
Cancer is unfortunately fairly common in my family, so I appreciate the gesture. I can think of plenty of places I'd rather have my prostate checked than my local grocery store. It makes for some terrifying PA system announcements, for one, and frankly I'm not sure the teenager that bags my groceries is qualified for that kind of work, but as I said, I really do appreciate any company stepping forward with cancer awareness programs. So, to be nice, I look over the glossy flyer he has given me and pretend that I'd actually consider getting an exam in the same place I buy cheese. You know what it says?
"Prostate exams are recommended for men over the age of 50...."
Yeah, fifty. A free screening for men my age, huh? Men who, like me, are over the age of fifty years old. Is that it?
Look, grocery store guy, I know I'm getting gray. As a matter of fact, I'm even aware of the fact that I'm getting rapidly gray, enough that my wife tells me, "Geez, you're REALLY getting gray" at least once per week. I know all of that and I'm not even denying that I have left my twenties behind quite a while ago, but fifty is still fifteen years away, pal. Fifteen years. So, next time you come at me with melted ice cream and offers for getting a finger stuck up my rear in the ethnic food aisle, at least call me "sir" and stand up straight. You whippersnappers don't know how good you have it, daggumit!
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2 comments:
I have now had 4 exams, one scoping, and one full blown colonoscopy now - and if I would have been lucky enough to have been in a grocery store for any of those . . . I so would have bucked for some free ice-cream - it's not like your tonsils anymore.
p.s. about your age. Look at it like this, you can run for president now. Hey, I'd vote for you.
As a former Safeway employee, I can assure you that there is no vision or mental aptitude test involved in the hiring process. My guess is they handle prostates the same way they handle their produce...roughly and with much misting.
Take comfort...at least you don't work at Safeway, right?
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