Most people have fond memories of being young and we idealize the "good old days" of our youth.
And I must say that I am no exception - my nostalgic memories paint a picture of a much simpler world where right and wrong were clearly defined.
There were things that were just accepted and understood, certain courtesies that were considered the norm.
Which is why something that I have noticed only recently (within the last few months) has been particularly disturbing to me, as if it's a sign that society is breaking down.
It's the shopping carts, you see.
I can remember as a very young child riding at the top of the cart when my father took us shopping on Saturdays.
I absolutely adored it; it was a treat that I looked forward to every week.
I have a special fondness for shopping carts, those underappreciated conveyances that people never notice until they can't get one.
Stores supply them for the convenience of their shoppers, and shoppers always seemed to understand that the use of the carts was limited to the extent of the store's parking lot.
This is a symbiotic relationship which benefits both parties - the customers can purchase more items and the retail establishment can make more money because of it.
Until now.
I don't know if this is just a South Florida trend, or if this is more widespread.
I've called a few friends in other cities, and they've noticed the same thing.
The shopping carts are being abandoned, just left at a bus stop, in the middle of a sidewalk, in another parking lot, or sometimes at the side of a building.
I've seen carts lying in the middle of grassy fields, metal frame glinting in the sun, looking like the skeletal remains of a long dead animal.
There's another cart at the edge of a canal, being covered with overgrown weeds and slowly rusting.
Carts that block pedestrians and bicyclists, not to mention people using walkers and mobility scooters.
It's a highly indignant fate for something that has been so beneficial to everyone.
This never happened when I was growing up.
What gives? I realize that years have passed and times have certainly changed, especially recently.
People losing homes and jobs are much worse problems than abandoned shopping carts.
Unemployment forcing families to deplete their savings or live on credit, banks that charge outrageous interest rates to their customers while taking taxpayer funded bailouts to cover their bad business decisions.
I understand how hard it is to keep up with payments, and I know the feeling of being at the gas pump with that knot in your stomach, wondering if you'll be able to afford this week's fill up.
It's expensive to keep the car running, with oil changes, repair bills and fuel costs.
Cutting back on driving is something I do myself, if something is within a couple of miles I usually put on the walking shoes and go.
That includes grocery shopping, I grab the reusable shopping bags and head out the door - I don't buy more than I can comfortably carry home if I don't intend to use the car.
And the shopping cart I use always stays within the store; I take it with me on my way in and put it back in its stack on the way out.
Why such concern over such a trivial subject? Maybe the problem is a symptom of the breakdown of society overall, with wealth being concentrated in the hands of the very few and the masses being forced to cope with deteriorating financial circumstances.
Actually, it's much simpler than that.
As shopping carts disappear from stores, the retailers will have to decide whether to replace them, which they almost certainly will, since they want customers to buy in volume.
Where will the money for that expenditure come from, when corporations are loathe to withhold even one penny of profit from their stockholders? Try higher prices for the average consumer.
You and me, and all of those people who take carts with no thought of what impact that action might have.
I still remember my local supermarket opening up three days after Hurricane Wilma landed in South Florida, with no electricity and no open gas stations for miles.
They got backup generators to run a minimum of lights and registers so they could supply the local neighborhood with water, canned goods and basics.
It could not have been easy for the employees to come in, with no traffic lights working and gasoline being an impossible to find commodity.
I'm sure the store made money during those days, but they didn't use the opportunity to jack up prices.
I appreciate what this store did for my community, and every time I come across one of those lonely shopping carts, I always think of it.
I can't tell you how many times I've rolled those carts back to their homes, even when it's blocks away.
Not just for the sake of a supermarket, but for all of us.
And I must say that I am no exception - my nostalgic memories paint a picture of a much simpler world where right and wrong were clearly defined.
There were things that were just accepted and understood, certain courtesies that were considered the norm.
Which is why something that I have noticed only recently (within the last few months) has been particularly disturbing to me, as if it's a sign that society is breaking down.
It's the shopping carts, you see.
I can remember as a very young child riding at the top of the cart when my father took us shopping on Saturdays.
I absolutely adored it; it was a treat that I looked forward to every week.
I have a special fondness for shopping carts, those underappreciated conveyances that people never notice until they can't get one.
Stores supply them for the convenience of their shoppers, and shoppers always seemed to understand that the use of the carts was limited to the extent of the store's parking lot.
This is a symbiotic relationship which benefits both parties - the customers can purchase more items and the retail establishment can make more money because of it.
Until now.
I don't know if this is just a South Florida trend, or if this is more widespread.
I've called a few friends in other cities, and they've noticed the same thing.
The shopping carts are being abandoned, just left at a bus stop, in the middle of a sidewalk, in another parking lot, or sometimes at the side of a building.
I've seen carts lying in the middle of grassy fields, metal frame glinting in the sun, looking like the skeletal remains of a long dead animal.
There's another cart at the edge of a canal, being covered with overgrown weeds and slowly rusting.
Carts that block pedestrians and bicyclists, not to mention people using walkers and mobility scooters.
It's a highly indignant fate for something that has been so beneficial to everyone.
This never happened when I was growing up.
What gives? I realize that years have passed and times have certainly changed, especially recently.
People losing homes and jobs are much worse problems than abandoned shopping carts.
Unemployment forcing families to deplete their savings or live on credit, banks that charge outrageous interest rates to their customers while taking taxpayer funded bailouts to cover their bad business decisions.
I understand how hard it is to keep up with payments, and I know the feeling of being at the gas pump with that knot in your stomach, wondering if you'll be able to afford this week's fill up.
It's expensive to keep the car running, with oil changes, repair bills and fuel costs.
Cutting back on driving is something I do myself, if something is within a couple of miles I usually put on the walking shoes and go.
That includes grocery shopping, I grab the reusable shopping bags and head out the door - I don't buy more than I can comfortably carry home if I don't intend to use the car.
And the shopping cart I use always stays within the store; I take it with me on my way in and put it back in its stack on the way out.
Why such concern over such a trivial subject? Maybe the problem is a symptom of the breakdown of society overall, with wealth being concentrated in the hands of the very few and the masses being forced to cope with deteriorating financial circumstances.
Actually, it's much simpler than that.
As shopping carts disappear from stores, the retailers will have to decide whether to replace them, which they almost certainly will, since they want customers to buy in volume.
Where will the money for that expenditure come from, when corporations are loathe to withhold even one penny of profit from their stockholders? Try higher prices for the average consumer.
You and me, and all of those people who take carts with no thought of what impact that action might have.
I still remember my local supermarket opening up three days after Hurricane Wilma landed in South Florida, with no electricity and no open gas stations for miles.
They got backup generators to run a minimum of lights and registers so they could supply the local neighborhood with water, canned goods and basics.
It could not have been easy for the employees to come in, with no traffic lights working and gasoline being an impossible to find commodity.
I'm sure the store made money during those days, but they didn't use the opportunity to jack up prices.
I appreciate what this store did for my community, and every time I come across one of those lonely shopping carts, I always think of it.
I can't tell you how many times I've rolled those carts back to their homes, even when it's blocks away.
Not just for the sake of a supermarket, but for all of us.