$124 Watermelon Blues
“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”― Harlan Ellison
SO I WAS ALMOST SOLD A $124 WATERMELON…
It was a mistake made by the person ringing me up at the grocery store, mistaking a watermelon that cost $7.99/each to a watermelon that cost $7.99 a pound. No, I did not buy the watermelon…I would doubt I would ever buy a $124 watermelon. After telling the story of the $124 Watermelon to my family and laughing about it, one of them recommended that I post the experience on the neighborhood social media website Nextdoor. I RARELY do anything like that anymore, but the story seemed so preposterous I thought it had to be told. My post:
I was at Andronicos buying a few items when the check-out person ran my watermelon through--costing $124. She said it was $7.99 a pound...I said, no...it is $7.99 for the whole melon. They refused to budge on the price and I decided to not buy it (who would!). The person helping at the counter put my watermelon back, confirming it was $7.99/pound. AS I left the store, I too looked and saw the price as $7.99 a melon....so I went back in the store and looked at the two who had almost sold me a $124 watermelon and said, "HEY!! The watermelon is only $7.99...TOTAL!" To which they just stared at me without saying anything, and after a few beats, went back to help the next customer.
People started responding to my post pretty much right away…and continued to respond to it days after, in fact within the last 30 minutes of writing these words. My $124 watermelon post got top three engaged posts in my local area and a few hours ago I got an e-mail from Nextdoor suggesting I start my own group around the post…a group where people gather and talk about my $124 watermelon. And yes, that sounds preposterous (yes, that IS preposterous). And yet, As I read the 60+ comments that have given to my post, you can gage that there is some sort of appetite for people talking about overcharged fruit…or more probably, an appetite to have a community dialogue no matter what sets it off.
The comments posted are such an interesting study of what people want to talk about…their deep feelings, irritants, jokes and quips. Here are some things I learned from the comments to my post:
Many people thought I should have reported the incident to the manager. That it would make the “store better” if people like me would follow the overcharged melon story to it’s just conclusion.
Mine was not a lone occurrence of a fruit overcharge. One person had recently been charged $96 for a honeydew melon at the local Safeway. Another had been charged $400 for a fruit bowl. And there were others who chimed in with other instances of overcharging. Which leads me to…
There are people who are generally unhappy with the service they get at grocery stores and went so far as to say that often there are big errors at the cash register. Without reading too much into it, the tone often seemed one of being overwhelmed. And as you can imagine…
Their comments led to counter comments from folks who took the side of the check-out staff, talking about how hard their jobs are and how hard it is to find people who can do them. Many of these comments were attempts at changing the minds of the unhappy people, attempting to draw them in with empathy and scolding….often taking a tone of a tough all-knowing teacher or office manager
Finally, there were also folks who shared the humor of the situation and responded with humor of their own: “Everyone should make a trip to Andronicos and ask where the $124 water melons are 🤣” and other folks who brought up the advent of the square watermelon and the price tag it showcased.
One person even used the moment to discuss the inter-workings of Amazon and how the rise of the price of watermelons was a signal to Amazon losing money on deliveries.
So much has been written about how people converse over social media. What makes Nextdoor interesting is that on the platform the conversations take on a hyper-local neighbor-oriented tone. People have deep feelings about so many things, and an online forum gives permission to explore them. My $124 watermelon story turns out to be a portal into looking at how we treat others and how we are treated…about shared experiences and ponderings. It is about having the chance to be heard (more than, unfortunately, a chance to hear). And my post was not even a political post (#EverythingIsPolitical).
I updated my post with the following addition with the inclination not to post again for a very long time:
I appreciate all the comments. I just want to say that despite the inability of the two people who helped me to solve the problem (and yes, we all make mistakes), I still happily shop at the store, and hold no ill will. Nor did I feel like taking time away from being with my family to find a manager at the store to talk to about...a watermelon (although maybe it would have made good one-act theater). My post is really celebrating the hilarious story that I was almost sold a $124 Watermelon. How often does that happen? I guess judging by the comments, more than one would expect!
And yes, all work should be valued!
Bobby Neuwirth: The Godfather of "hey, man..."
Bobby Neuwirth passed away recently at 82 years old…and an old friend and former Village Voice writer Lucian K. Truscott IV wrote a celebration of the scenster/Dylan roadie/singer on his substack newsletter. A great read. Thank you David Brendel for turning me on to it.
***The initial post had a problematic link. That has been corrected.
Cat Power Delivers a Tender, Singular Take on the Rolling Stones’ ‘You Got the Silver’
“Cat Power has officially released her rendition of the Rolling Stones’ You Got the Silver, which was previously only available as a bonus track on the Japanese version of her recent album, Covers.”
UNSETTLING THE SCORE: Sasha Frere-Jones on the art of Éliane Radigue
A loving tribute to an electronic music pioneer. Just a great look at her life…and where she is currently on her path.
Last week was the birthday of the writer who, even though he was HUGELY successful and famous during his life, is now only remembered because of the omelette named after him. What is an Arnold Bennett Omelette, you ask? Well, it is a very rich cast-iron egg dish with haddock and cream. Doesn’t THAT sound great. What he is NOT remembered for are his books, like the Clayhanger Trilogy. It is all very complex, and the above article is a good read.
Mona Lisa Smeared with Cake by Climate Change Protester: ‘Think of the Planet’
Great stunt….but did anyone remind the smearer….or anyone watching…that the painting is behind glass???? It does remind me of a story I heard about my friend Clifford at age 5? 6? being found with a crayon drawing on a Cy Twombly painting at his family house. Yes. They had a Twombly at the house. And yes, they kept the crayon scribble.
Marcus Yam: From Aspiring Astronaut to a Pulitzer Prize in Photography
“PetaPixel spoke with Yam to learn about his journey from growing up in Malaysia and studying aerospace engineering to becoming one of the world’s top conflict photographers with a Pulitzer Prize to his name.”
I Am Not I
BY JUAN RAMÓN JIMÉNEZ (translated by Robert Bly)
I am not I.
I am this one
walking beside me whom I do not see,
whom at times I manage to visit,
and whom at other times I forget;
who remains calm and silent while I talk,
and forgives, gently, when I hate,
who walks where I am not,
who will remain standing when I die.
A friend of mine was telling me the other day about the insane precise of "pristine" fruit in Tokyo - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-01-06/stand-in-awe-of-tokyo-s-100-melons