Dwelling in the Moment

Last week hubby and I decided to visit one of our favorite stores. Our normal visit to Whole Foods usually requires a 2 hour drive South to Sarasota. But the rewards are great and worth it.

Usually we go on a Saturday as the "Saturday Market" is full of the best fresh fruits and vegetables around, the arts and crafts from the locals always leaves you wanting something to take home, and the music and fanfare is lively with interesting colorful people. People stroll the streets with their dogs....cafe tables surround a water fountain lining the storefront for people to enjoy the outdoors. The store is massive and the employees are some of the happiest people around.

So on this day having recently discovered the opening of one just an hour from us, we decided to make the trip.

Arriving we were a bit taken back as it's location was very industrialized and felt more like a warehouse then our beloved Sarasota store. Cafe tables surrounded by nothing but parking lots......Two stories of parking lots, in fact. No music, no tempting fruits stands or homemade goodies....no handcrafted purses, no puppies strolling with their master's........just ice cold cement......everywhere........

Entering the store, as expected, the flowers that greet you are just bursting with color......vibrant pinks, yellows, scarlets, every color imaginable.....

Hubby's first stop, as always, is the meat market.......so I busy myself snapping pictures of all the pretty flowers........100 snaps or so later I move on to the fresh produce.....

Now, I don't know if it's something about organic fruits and veggies, or if Whole Foods just has an incredible knack at displaying their goods......but everything just pops with color.

Before I even get as far as selecting my next victim for my little photo shoot.....perhaps that succulent ruby red tomato.......or that stack of golden sweet potatoes that resemble an Egyptian pyramid...I am confronted by a salesman who asks if I am one of their vendors. Hmmmmm....that's a new line.....never heard that one before....a bit odd....I tell him "no".....and he goes on to tell me that I am not allowed to take photographs in their store. That it is against store policy.

Really???? Well, at first I thought he was joking, but soon realized he was quite serious.
I'm like......"you're just a grocery store, you're not a bank....a government building, the FBI or CIA........you sell food...where's the harm....what's the threat......"

Stunned by his request I carry on through the isles searching for hubby, wondering....what has become of us!

So ok, I can see if I was taking pictures of their alarm system, or their office.....or all the exit doors........but it was obvious I wasn't...................I was taking pictures of flowers.......minding my own business.

And how many people walk into public places with cameras....or at the very least one on their cell phones......if someone wanted to "case the joint" there would be no telling..........

This incidence is a flash back to a recent time at Amscot when I went for a money order........the lady asked me what the money was being used for........"What....excuse me?"

She goes on to explain that as part of the Patriot Act they are required to obtain that information from their customers. After recovering from disbelief and refusing simply based on principal she brings over the manager who politely hands me a pamphlet that discusses their policy and how it relates to the safety of our country.

Now seriously if someone came in and had any intention of wrong doing with transferring monies ect.....would they really be so honest as to divulge that information?

So I had the choice of telling them that all I needed was a money order to pay a simple bill.....that I haven't written a real check in a long time, with the discovery of online banking I barely even know where the checkbook is any more.

Instead I decided to take my business else where.......walked next door to Publix and bought the money order with no questions asked. Amazing..........

So back to Whole Foods....as a small gesture of protest, we buy this little goodie and eat in the cool atmosphere of their little outside cafe area and snap this picture.

But honestly, in all sincerity, there is little I wouldn't do to protect this great country I live in.........but to stop taking pictures of fruit just doesn't seem like one of the top 100 threats facing us today!

PS
If you ever find yourself in New York near Central Park, Columbus Circle, you will find the most amazing Whole Foods....EVER!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!!!