Chapter 1 The Apple Cart

The rain beat down upon my face as I made my way down the street to Troopers Market.  Tuesday morning was the day of the week that I usually fought the crowd to bring back the basic supplies needed for the week. My list was a small one and it would not take long to get what I needed. The plan was simple enough, go to the market and pick up a few things, then on to the cleaners for the week s dirty laundry.

My usual parking spot was taken and I had to find another one-two blocks away, I had considered going back home and coming back next Tuesday. I am a man that lives by a schedule. There must be order and discipline in all that I do. Certain things are done on particular days and at their scheduled times.

 Monday from 9:00am   11:00 is laundry time.  Tuesday is shopping day, from 9:00am   11:30am; I pull into the parking spot at precisely 8:57am and it takes three minutes to get to the front door at Troopers Market. Wednesday is the day that I take my walk through the park and feed the ducks in the pond. I had a feeling that today was going to be a bad day because the extra time it took me to walk from the new parking spot to the front door delayed my arrival by ten minutes. It was now 9:10am and I felt my nerves beginning to tighten and my heart rate increase. Even the clerk at the register made a comment about my being late and that they thought I was not coming.

I passed the remark off with a small laugh, but inside I felt that others were watching and talking about me.  I pulled out the list of things that I needed and proceeded to my first destination. I tried to hurry and make up the time that I had wasted already this morning. No matter how I tried to get back on schedule, I just could not reach my goal. I only had two items left on my list, a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. In order to make up time I did something that I really am ashamed about doing; I took a short cut through the produce department.

The third Tuesday of the month is produce day, so I really had no business going through that department. I was a week early and I began to feel guilty for doing what I had done, I told myself that it was just something that I had to do to restore order for that day.

As I passed the apple cart something caught my eye and as I thought about it I found that this was something that bothered me more than having my perfect schedule upset. On the top row, mixed in with the shiny, red apples was something that definitely did not belong there.

There it was, staring me in the face, laughing at me and mocking me. I felt that I could almost hear it saying to me, "Hey you look at me, I refuse to live amongst those oranges and I am taking up residence here with the apples." Well, I just could not let this injustice go on; I quickly put the wandering fruit back in its proper place and finished my shopping. I told the manager about the mix-up and he told me not to worry about such things.

The rest of the week went on without any problems or mix-ups. Tuesday morning came around again and I made the weekly pilgrimage to Troopers Market. This was the week that I re-stocked my fruit cellar and I made the stop in that department at the assigned time. So far all had gone well, I was on time and I knew that today was going to be a great day. Everyone had a pleasant disposition there was a light airy feeling surrounding me.

That is when my world fell apart; I turned the corner and approached the apple cart. I could not believe my eyes, was I really seeing this horrible scene in front of me. There on the top of the apple cart were two oranges mixed in with the apples. I remember screaming out but what I said escapes me.

My sister tells me that two men in white coats brought me to this place. The doctor says that I have a problem, but I don t think so. I told him that he is the one that is crazy. The food here is not so bad, but they won t let me do my own laundry or go shopping for myself.

I sat down to eat breakfast this morning but I could not, something I saw made me sick. I don't know who sets the tables here, but they put the ketchup on the left instead of the right side of the mustard.