Although picking out snacks is not on my guilty list, waiting on line at the checkout counter and reading all of the latest "news" in People, Us, and the National Enquirer is. Time after time I get in line only to be drawn to these tabloids like a moth drawn to the light. I try to look away and focus on something more educational or better for me, but always return to the lowest level of supermarket reading.
Sometimes I don't even bother with the self scan as there are not any good magazines to peruse or trash to skim. I would rather wait in line. My favorite position is being behind one, two or three people with small purchases. The line moves quickly enough for a fix and not too slowly as to read cover to cover. When the lines are long or the shopping cart is full it is actually possible to get into the "trashy zone".
This is when you are shuffling along, glancing up every once in a while but then, just like that, it is your turn to unload your cart...but you are not ready to leave the zone. You are deeply engrossed in reading about Lindsay, Brangelina, Brittney, A-Rod or some other wannabe or has been. Suddenly you feel deprived because you did not get to finish the article and worse yet, you are already committed to it.
Heaven forbid, you actually purchase this rag. I usually get through this slightly embarrassing moment by telling the supermarket clerk "I am catching up on all the latest news". They usually laugh and understand as I quickly replace this tabloid rag on the wrong shelf, next to the Certs, Milky Way's, Trident or some other impulse buy.
Come to think of it, if I bought Stouffer's Mac and Cheese, some Haagen Dazs ice cream and a racey tabloid it's just like I am a freshman in college again.
