Contemplation in the Check-out Line

I dont really mind waiting in line to check out at the grocery store. If truth be told, the trend toward faster check-outs irritates me a little. I know, most Americans living our busy lives get irritated by long lines, and merchants have increasingly responded to our lack of patience by providing express lanes, "limited number" lines, and self-checkout, as well as increased staff in high-volume hours.

See, I learned a while back, that there is plenty of interesting reading material available for those who have to wait in line. There is always a magazine which has the latest information on fashion, or diets, or the results of a nation-wide poll on "how to find your love," or "how to keep your love," or "how to get your love back." There may be a magazine with the latest reproduction results of the beautiful, the talented, or the rich. And, usually there is at least one magazine, if not more, that covers the same stories Nancy Grace covers on her nightly "news show." Please, do not mistake the previous sentence for an endorsement of Grace. If you are surfing channels and stop on her show for about a minute, you will discover the latest newsworthy conversation on who is missing, kidnapped, or murdered in our society.

And that brings me to the cover of a magazine I saw yesterday that said, "Casey Anthony, the Most Hated Woman in America."

Why does everyone want to hate Casey? Why do people want her in prison? The jury listened to the presentations and witnesses of the trial, and found her guilty of a minor infraction of child neglect.

We want to hate her because she "lost" her child. If any one of us lost our child, we'd find ourselves investigated, tried, and convicted of child abandonment, endangerment, and anything else Child Protective Services could throw at us. It doesn't seem real that a woman could lose her child and not be punished severely.

The news media believes bad news sells. Nancy Grace and others like her believe there is always a "bad guy." Well, maybe there is, but there are an awful lot of us out here who are crazy scared we might, out of ignorance, allow something to happen to our children. All of us may be more worried about what we may or may not do to our children, than we are afraid that a neighbor may be a serial child murderer.

Oh the things I think about in the check-out line.

So we hate Casey because she had the same responsibilities we have as parents and grandparents. She failed miserably. We can forget our worries if we hate her.

Anyway, there are a lot of things to think about in the check-out line, and those tabloids can provide amusement and thoughtful reflection.