Aldi Drama

I like the Aldi stores, but I must admit that the shopping experience is not particularly pleasant. I put up with it because the prices simply cannot be beaten by any other store. That said, this simple fact lends itself to a more "difficult" clientele than many other stores will have to deal with. This is likely why Aldi often has a security guard posted near the entrance. There is one particular Aldi store that is near where I live that seems to have a greater abundance of drama than the other stores I've been to. I've seen belligerent people, people who can't pay, drunk people, people being arrested, etc., but yesterday I witnessed an elderly man who had just fallen. The poor guy had just paid for a cart full of groceries and fell down as he was preparing to leave. His leg looked like it was probably injured in the process. Someone called for "security," which I must say, this particular security officer was nearly useless during this event. Three customers rushed to assist and managed to get the man's leg out from under him. As the man was sitting on the floor and everyone attempted to assess the seriousness of the situation, he fell backward on his head and then the manager and security guard called 9-1-1. There was nothing for most of us to do but finish our transactions and leave—which is what I did. The paramedics arrived as I was leaving in my car.

It is hard to see another person go through such an event. I went home and hugged my wife and child. I woke in the middle of the night—as snow was coming down; and I wondered what had happened to this elderly man and if he had survived. I said a little prayer for him—which is all I could do really.