Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Mechanically Challenged

I'm at the grocery store and looking for some "healthy" snacks to take to work; snacks that do not involve fruit. The store has a section of wall with dispensers, the kind one would see in a cafeteria for cereal.



It's a snack food heaven! I grab a little plastic bag, find some wasabi fried peas and look for a knob to turn. There is no knob.

I think for a short bit (not long enough, though, which becomes evident later) and I put the bag on the nozzle and pull down. Then I pull again. This sucker is not budging. I decide then to push up on the nozzle. Nothing. I push up again. I'm starting to get really puzzled. I decide to pull down again, thinking that might work now that some time has lapsed. Still nothing.

I look at the dispenser and notice a hinge that moves forward and back inside the nozzle, so I pull the nozzle towards me. I'm pulling hard. I want these peas. The dispenser begins to move away from the wall, slowly pulling all the other dispenser next to it towards me. Shoot! I must be pulling the wrong way, so I push the dispenser back towards the wall. Still no movement from the hinges, but I do hear a soft "pop" as the dispenser snaps back into place. I'm exasperated and hungry. I find a 16 year old high school boy who works at the store and say, "Excuse me, I need some help with your nuts." Then I smile. He walks over, grabs a new plastic bag, puts bag on nozzle, and....

pulls the lever.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You made my day! I hope the kid laughed. Was the little one with you?

Anonymous said...

That previous comment was from me. I did not put a name in it.

Anonymous said...

You made the kids day too. Does Michael know you go around propositioning 16 year old boys??? :)