"Gulf" Shrimp and "Personal Escort" At Store Today

Hi all, I haven't started a thread for awhile, I've been enjoying just reading and replying. BUT, today something happened to me that I knew I was going to share on here, I knew it while it was happening!!

I went to the grocery store today (technically yesterday) with my husband, which never happens and was strange enough to begin with. I usually do all the grocery shopping on the weekends while he watches sports ! So, we walk into the store and went through produce towards the back where the seafood dept. is. I love shrimp but I have stopped eatting it since the spill, there are simply too many reasons to list for why I made that choice. Anyway, my husband and I were thinking maybe some clams and I could make chowder since it's getting cold. This is where the whole "event" began:

We were both at the seafood counter, but at opposite ends, he went straight towards the crab leg clusters ! So I'm at the clams and see a great deal on local little neck clams, I tell my husband, whose about 20ft. away and I start walking towards him so that I wouldn't be shouting (we're not as young as we used to be haha). I was browsing as I walked and BOOM, I stopped dead in my tracks when what do my wandering eyes see? GULF shrimp for $9.99/lb !! Seriously, who the *four-letter-word* would buy shrimp, or any other seafood, from the freaking GULF!!!??? Then why price it almost $5 more than the shrimp from Thiland? Better yet, what grocery store big wig approved the purchase of this shrimp in the first place!?

Now up to this point, these are only thoughts in my head and I hadn't said anything about it out loud...yet! My husband and I are about 12ft. apart at this point and my thoughts reached a point where they just had to be said out loud. I said; "Oh my God, baby they are selling shrimp from the Gulf, WTF (actually said all three words out loud, opps)? Seriously, what person is going to come in here and even think about buying this shrimp? And whoever does, holy &$%#, more power to 'em!" and he gave me this look like; 'shut up, dear Lord just shut up', lmao!! Its then that I notice a fidgety older woman behind the counter, almost pacing only in like two steps either direction. Then I said to my husband; "Really though, and look, the shrimp from Thiland is only$5.29/lb. Would you eat shrimp from the Gulf?" Again the look, but this time it had some, I don't know what you would call it, realization maybe?!

That is when I realized I was going to post this here as soon as I had the chance! This is when the lady behind the counter approached me and asked in a tone that I first interpreted as shy; "Can I get you something?" Later I realized she was nervous! I told her no thank you and that I was still thinking about it. I lingered there in front of the shrimp for another minute or so and then went to catch up to my husband who was now at the beggining of the meat dept. Just as I passed the employee doorway into/out of the seafood dept; the lady walked out, tinkered with a display stand for a minute and then walked towards the front of the store ! I let it out of my mind almost immediately and started looking for meat deals. We didn't find any and decided to just get something quick for dinner and try another store tomorrow that is a little further away.

Everything was going as normally as you would expect for such a rare thing as this joint shopping trip. Then it got weird, out of no where comes this scruffy looking guy with a shopping cart and he seemed like he was in a hurry. I moved out of his way to let him pass and he only went a few feet further up the isle and picked up a box of cereal. This would seem normal too, if it weren't for the fact that he stood there for a few minutes reading the same box until we had meandered our way to the end of the isle and went to the bread section. Not even a minute passed once we got there and, you guessed it, scruffy guy was right behind us, WTF? This dude was with us the rest of the time and even went to check-out at the same time. We just kept acting as normal as possible, but it was weird! We didn't see him any more outside the store, so we loaded up and drove home.

On the ride home we talked about it, of course, and he said; "Maybe you talking about the Gulf shrimp was deemed as suspicious behavior?" He said it in a teasing tone, so I teased back; "Well, we do live in the USA in 2010 AND its Nov.6th!" He knows I'm a conspiracy theorist to the core, he is not, but he puts up with it and does see a lot of "theories" as being possible.

So, in conclusion, why did I see Gulf shrimp in my local grocery store and why was it priced 2nd highest of all the shrimp? Then, why was the lady so fidgety and nervous while I was talking about the lunacy of said shrimp? Why would she be leaving from behind that counter, leaving it "unmanned" during of the busiest shopping times? Also, to what did we owe the honor of our "Chaperone" during the rest of our visit to their fine establishment?!?!?!

I'd go take a little "vacation" somewhere far, far away...
You sure scruffy guy didn't follow you home?



...Then again, I'm the paranoid type.

But Obama said the gulf is A-OK! Don't you believe him?!

I'd write to that supermarket corporate center- and have all your neighbors that shop there do so as well.

Scruffy guy probably thought you were cute......

other than that.. paranoia. Those fisherman still need to make a living and it would be hit and miss on the toxicity levels regardless of where in the ocean it comes from.

Originally posted by airteck
Scruffy guy probably thought you were cute......

other than that.. paranoia. Those fisherman still need to make a living and it would be hit and miss on the toxicity levels regardless of where in the ocean it comes from.

You are most likely right on the paranoia lol! I try not to let myself get all worked up over things in general, even as a conspiracy theorist, I still have to live in the matrix ! Usually I do a really good job at seperating my "ATS self" from my "Mom/wife/co-worker self" seeing as I'm a Gemini and all! However, this was just really strange, so much so that it made my husband sit up and take notice. Also, scruffy guy would think anything with boobies and a pulse was cute, even having a pulse might be optional lol!

I also know that the fisherman need to make money and fishing is what they have and all they know! I do not have my head in the sand about this fact at all! I truly wish that it was still an option for them, but it just is not any more! The other point about toxicity levels, I completely agree! In fact, most of the food we have access to is toxic these days, it's always hit or miss at the grocery store! I think we all should to have access to fresh, unhampered with foods ~ local and organic foods! However, this is not an option any more either. The times they are a changin'.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like a classic case of paranoia.

Yes, the gulf spill was bad - but, in the grand scheme of things, it was not huge, and only a small portion of the gulf was affected.

The media did a fantastic job of scaring everyone, unfortunately at the expense of the fishermen (and many others) who make their living from those waters.

Scruffy man just happened to be in the same aisles as you. Simple as that.

The shrimp was expensive because it's fresher than the stuff from Thailand, and cost the fishermen a lot more to process... kinda like products "Made in the USA" cost us a little more than "Made in China", because they cost more to produce.