Sam's Run

On our way home from from Princeton today, we made our Sam's Run, a trip to the bulk-foods warehouse where we shop every other week. Items on our list today are: kitty litter, two forty pound bags to last us the two weeks; toilet paper, which comes in a case of 20 rolls; paper towels, a case of 15 rolls; a four-pound bag of cheese tortellini, which the boys love; breakfast cereal; pullups for Matthew, who still needs them at night; and a few other miscellaneous things.

We split up upon entering the store. Tab takes Daniel and Stephen and heads for the paper goods section. Matthew comes with me to shop for food. First, however, I detour around the books and computer tables to see what is new. Just the usual mix of religious books, Oprah bestsellers, and thrillers, nothing that I feel the need to buy.

In the software aisle I linger over The Sims. I'm intrigued by everything I've heard about this game. Create a family--a whole neighborhood of families, even--and control their daily lives. When I was growing up I always wanted but never got a dollhouse...but this looks even better. Reluctantly, I put The Sims box down, but I may be back to buy it. Sam's has good prices on software. The last time we were here I found Axis and Allies for $10. We bought it to give to my Dad, who will love the chance to conduct World War II. The stock at Sam's varies from week to week. It's good we bought that game when we saw it because it is no longer sold here.

"Can we have snacks, Mama?" Matthew asks. Sometimes Sam's offers samples of its various food items, which the boys call "snacks." Today they are offering some sort of faux-Mexican appetizer, spicy beans and beef in a kind of dough pocket. I hand a piece to Matthew on a toothpick. He looks at it quizzically, then takes an experimental bite. I don't expect that he'll like it, but he surprises me.

We meet up with Tab and the other two boys and proceed to the checkout. Tab moves the items from my cart into his. The man ahead of us has only a few items in his cart, just videos and paperbacks. The movies are romantic comedies: The American President, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Jerry Maguire. The books are either legal or technothrillers: The Testament by John Grisham, Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy, and Cuba by Stephen Coonts. I imagine he's buying videos which he plans to watch with his significant other, date movies, but his reading choices reflect his own taste.

Sam's does not provide shopping bags for the purchases. Each item is scanned by the cashier, then placed into another, empty cart. Tab pays the total, $73.48. On the way out of the store, we stop by a Sam's employee who checks the items in the cart against our receipt. She marks the receipt with a vertical slash of her magic marker and waves us out. We wheel the carts to the car, the three boys are clinging to them like barnacles on ships. Tab loads our purchases into the minivan and we head for home.

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