Dear Yak,
I recently visited my 70-something parents in the country. My mum has always been one of those people who carefully checks the receipt (she calls it the ‘docket’) after going through the checkout at the supermarket. On this particular occasion, it seems that an avocado was scanned at the wrong price.
I was sitting on a bench out the front of the supermarket watching the controversy unfold. Mum and Dad were both huddled over the ‘docket’ for a long time. Then they had a conversation about it. Then they examined the ‘docket’ again. Then some more words were exchanged. Then Mum looked around for “someone in charge”. I could tell just by the look on her face that she was determined to take it to another level. Dad didn’t really give a shit.
Long story short: Mum ended up getting the avocado for free. But the whole incident took up more than 20 minutes. I told her it wasn’t worth the haggling when the price difference was only 15c. But she said it wasn’t about the money but the principle.
Oh Yak, I love my mum dearly, but I sometimes wonder if she’s going a bit nutty in her golden years. Am I going to be like this when I’m in my 70s?
Yours sincerely,
Price Check
Dear Price Check,
I think your mum is a very smart woman. While life as we know it lurches towards social, political and environmental catastrophe, she’s one of the few people willing to take a stand. She’s not afraid to speak up, to make a noise and demand action.
And she’s also very wise to be suspicious of the humble avocado. It’s a fruit that lies at the very heart of societal breakdown. After all, there’s a whole generation of millennial hipsters who can’t afford to buy property because they waste their disposable income on smashed avocado on toast. While sipping lattes. Need I go on? And don’t get me started on guacamole.
Hope this helps.
With kind regards,
The Yak
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