WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024 - ANTS

Well, not the kind of ants you're thinking - the insect kind.

Joke - how do you “finance” - have a picnic!!  (Find ants - get it??)

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I haven’t studied ants, but I know there are different kinds—including Fire Ants—the ants that are likely to sting or bite you. (Or, the name for the Georgetown Granny Basketball team).) Since I’m not too concerned about real ants, let’s just figure out ‘standard’ ants (are there such an insect?)—black, not too large, not too small, common to backyards in the United States (and I’ll guess common in the rest of the world.)

They walk on the grass, over limbs and rocks. Frequently, ants might be in a line from point A to point B. (I’m not sure why, but there they are!!!.)

Supposedly, there is an order in the ant colony—one queen ant (like one queen bee) and some drone (male) ants that do nothing but procure the next generation of ants. The lower echelon is the worker ants, who gather things and carry them back to the ant hill. 

I remember Ant Farms being offered as a science kit.  Two panes of glass, maybe 2 inches apart - with soil and ants in between.  (I remember thinking - yuck - the glass would break, and we’d have ants crawling around in our house.)

There is an internal order (that I don’t understand.  The worker ants go out and collect appropriate food and bring it back.  As kids, we might have encountered obstacles between the ant and where ‘he’ was going (although we generally just stepped on the ants - especially if on a sidewalk).  The worker ants knew their duty and did the job.  Their DNA was programmed to do the job - so not thinking, they did what was expected of their colony.

They were going here and there - on a mission - doing something meaningful to the ant colony.

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(So, what is your point, Karen)

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Sunday, I went to Costco.  This was my first time attending Costco in Georgetown, Texas.  It opened last July, and I did not need to join Costco.  It is a big box store for bulk items.  I’ve read that it is the #1 wine retailer in the United States.

We (Connie and I) had been Costco members in Leander. I generally went to Costco for gas—three cents a gallon cheaper than other gas stations. (Sparky gets about 40 miles per gallon—and I think Sparky holds about nine gallons—so I could be saving about .27 cents if I filled my gas tank when it was empty. The old car got about 25 miles per gallon, so filling up with 20 gallons at 3 cents a gallon cheaper might save us 75 cents.  

For me, it is about 12 miles from the other side of Georgetown to Costco - so I’d be using up gas to get gas for three cents cheaper than the SpeedyStop that is two blocks away from my apartment. 

I don’t need to buy 48 toilet paper rolls at a time.  When our children were at home, it made sense to buy in bulk - but as a single person living frugally in an apartment - the $60 a year membership cost isn’t justified.

But, it was like an ant hill in Costco.  I arrived at about 11:45 (after church).  I searched for a parking place.  Even the overflow area was primarily full (but, of course, like all people, I wanted a spot nearer the entrance door!!!).

I have been having difficulty hearing lately. My right ear has fluid. On my trip up and down mountain roads, my ears popped frequently. It is just time to look at hearing aids. My sister suggested Costco for hearing tests and hearing aids. I had checked online - and supposedly, you can get a hearing check without being a Costco member - so I told the entrance guy that.  He suggested that the hearing center was in the back, so I went to the back corner - and worked my way forward.  (Unusual for me, I didn’t even stop at the various vendors giving samples!!!)

Finally, I found the hearing department (next to the pharmacy) - and only some of the way in the back.  The clerk said I needed to be a member to get checked, so I went to the membership desk and got a membership. Then, back to the hearing department.  I filled in some paperwork - and got an appointment for July 9th (a month away!!!)

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It seemed a million people were in the store—all like ants—all on a mission. There was little eye contact, and nobody said “hi” (although I was smiling and trying to). I guess I’m different.

The people “ants” flowed in and flowed out, all accomplishing some tasks before them. I could see some had shopping lists. I smiled at a man whose shopping cart was extremely packed.  

They went to the checkout lines (and patiently waited), and then many stopped for the $1.50 hotdog and 20-ounce beverage before leaving.  

Then, the human ants filed out.  The two checkers looked at the receipts and the customer’s shopping carts as people left the store and found their cars.

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It seems like organized chaos.  The people (like worker ants) had a purpose - and they did it and returned to their own homes (or ant hills).  

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At one time, that had been my life, too. My wife and I went to Costco and bought things we “needed” (or thought we needed—like the $800 wood pellet grill).  

There was an old movie that I had never seen but liked the title—“Stop the World, I Want to Get Off.” Maybe a town with a Costco is more than I need. Perhaps I need Madison, South Dakota, where I always saw somebody I knew in the grocery store. Maybe even Grand Island, Nebraska, with all the necessary facilities, or Winona, Minnesota, or Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

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But I am to love everybody - even all the shoppers at Costco - who are too intent on their shopping to smile.  Like ants, it seems they were on a mission.

Yes, Karen, LOVE WINS - and I have been called to be an ambassador for LOVE.

And, LOVE transforms - maybe we human “ants” on our assigned tasks can be transformed into loving, caring people - people who will smile, say “hi,” and “love their neighbors as themselves!!

Karen Anne White, ©, June 12, 2024