Daily Dirt: Store reconfigurations can be a major problem … or, where the heck are the Styrofoam cups?

Daily Dirt for Oct. 11, 2021

Hopefully, Vol. 93 of the Daily Dirt will answer some questions for our valued readers. Sit back, relax and enjoy today’s three thoughts:

1. I’m not a big fan of chaos.
I prefer my life to be rather orderly and predictable. For the most part, I like to regularly request the same thing at different restaurants — a different meal at each, but the same order on each occasion I go to a particular establishment. If I have something I like, why change? For example, each time I go to Tiramisu, I order ravioli salsa rosa — I know what I’m getting and I know I’ll enjoy it. Same thing goes for other restaurants in town.

Change is not necessarily a good thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Thomas Bertram “Bert” Lance is credited with popularizing that phrase, way back in 1977. I was a firm believer in those words well before that. Which brings us to my current dilemma.

I have mentioned before my regular grocery shopping stops are made at the Hy-Vee on Harrison. While I also make pit stops at all of the Hy-Vee and County Market sites, the Hy-Vee on Harrison is “home,” largely because it’s the closest to … well, home. So being the extreme creature of habit that I am, you can only imagine how trying the past couple of weeks have been for me after the Hy-Vee on Harrison began rearranging its store.

The items I normally buy are no longer where they have been for years. Some have been moved more than once after this grand plan went into action. I haven’t endured this kind of supermarket madness in nearly a decade — the last time “my” Hy-Vee undertook such a venture. I could take this aisleway anarchy no longer and stopped a veteran Hy-Vee employee to find out the reasoning behind this seemingly unnecessary frustration. I was told since the store opened 15 years ago this is only the second such reorganization, and this version has been caused by a fallout of the pandemic and the difficulty of getting all of the merchandise store officials regularly order. They figured a revamped format would help alleviate the problem of vacant store shelves caused by the inability of suppliers to produce all of the requested items, at least on the regular kind of basis the store — and customers — had become accustomed to prior to shipping delays, which are now a problem most businesses are dealing with these days.

The gentleman’s explanation was appreciated, and I actually felt relieved. I was still frustrated because I couldn’t find my favorite brand of Styrofoam cups again (they had been moved for either a third or fourth time — at this point I can’t remember), but at least I felt there actually was a method — or at least a reason — to the aforementioned madness. So if you are one of the many Hy-Vee on Harrison customers roaming the aisles of the store with that “where in the heck have they moved it?” look on your face, hopefully this will help you understand why. Do I think this massive undertaking was/is necessary? Definitely not, but at least I have some sort of understanding. Honestly, I don’t mind an empty shelf or two … if I can find my Styrofoam cups.

2. Happy birthday
Vanilla Ice: Our favorite rapper turns 54 on Oct. 31. Ice, ice, baby … 

George Wendt: If your favorite character on “Cheers” was Norm, Sunday is the day to celebrate his birthday. He will be 73.

Kim Kardashian: The woman with no title, no reason for the attention she receives and absolutely no talent, will be 41 on Oct. 21.

Michelle Gough: One of the many heirs to the Muddy River empire (three partners, lots of kids and grandkids) turns 23 on Oct. 19. She has more talent than Kim Kardashian. JRG

And in the gone, but not forgotten category of October birth dates:

Bela Lugosi: If he were still alive, the world’s No. 1 Dracula movie star would be 139 on Oct. 20.

Helen Reddy: She made “I am woman, hear me roar” the rallying cry in the early 1970s. She died at age 78 in late 2020, a few weeks shy of her Oct. 25 birthday.

Charlie Daniels: The legendary singer/song writer would have been 85 on Oct. 28. He passed away at age 83 back in 2020.

3. Found on Facebook – Some weekend findings from our favorite social media:

“If George is 68 and his girlfriend is 22, how much money does George have?”

“Being a little older, I am very fortunate to have someone call and check on me every day. He is from India and is very concerned about my car warranty.”:

“Things that tell the truth: Small children, drunk people, yoga pants.”

“What’s the favorite breakfast of high school English teachers? Synonym buns.”

Steve Fact O’ The Day

The first gel pen Steve bought was a Uni-ball model in 1984. The rest, as they say, is history.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. While he is old enough to have watched O.J. Simpson play football, he does not have a sex tape.