In the Twilight Zone

I knew going into it that my grocery store of choice was going to be lacking as usual. Little did I know how lacking.

I normally go to Wal-Mart simply because of convenience. Usually, they have everything you need all in one-stop shopping...not the one on Atlanta Highway. They normally are not well stocked, but I've learned to deal with it although it is very annoying.

Today Avery and I took the trek to get our shopping completed for all the Thanksgiving goodies we intend to prepare for our much anticipated company that will arrive next week! (My mom and dad, along with our good friends from Huntsville, Jon and Stacy with their two kiddos, Lawson and Jordan.)

When we arrived, all was normal. Then we got to the back of the store and noticed a bizarre phenomenon.

There was no food in the cold sections. I say none, but there were a few items. Milk, assorted bisquits, some butter, orange juice. But get this; where there actually was food, it was only the name brand, and there were only two or three items on the shelf. Same situation was going on in the freezer sections. The only thing that was pretty well stocked was turkeys. I guess they knew there would be an uprising if there were none to be found the week before Turkey Day.

Of course these were not ideal conditions in which to shop for a Thanksgiving meal; however, Avery and trudged on. I must admit that I was perturbed and silently vowed to never shop there again. The last straw is the last straw, right?

Then I heard it. A woman saying to the stockers what we all were thinking. "You all are sure understocked, huh? (polite laugh)"

"Yes," answered the man. "Our electricity was out too long so we had to throw out all the food and start fresh."

Well, at least what I was able to grab before the two people behind me finished everything off, was fresh. Then I felt bad...for a second.

The more I think about it, I realize they did whatever was needed to fix the problem. But my question is this. Don't grocery stores know that something like electricity going out could be a problem, and shouldn't they have back up generators?

If someone could please explain this, I would appreciate it.