Not a big crisis, but. . .

As crises go in the Bruce family, this was not serious, but my coffee maker died yesterday morning in mid-drip. So today I went to Wal-Mart after the gym to buy a new one. I finally found one that didn't look like the dash of my new Pacifica, but there were no boxes except on the top shelf labeled, "Ask for assistance." So I went to the front of the store to ask an employee for help. She didn't speak English, but after wildly waving my arms and pointing to the ceiling she nodded and set out to find someone. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I went back to find her and through sign language she told me she had asked someone. I kept an eye on her and saw her talking to the disabled door greeter. He very slowly came back to the H aisle and asked what the problem was, and I explained it. He was tall, but greeting customers was really all he could do. And bless Wal-Mart for giving people opportunities to work. He seemed confused, so I asked him if he could find another employee with a ladder. Another 5 minutes and he'd found a short, able-bodied woman who could speak English, and she knew where the ladder in dry goods was. She carried it over to kitchen appliances and climbed to the top of the step ladder (which you shouldn't do) and retrieved the box. I examined the contents carefully, and the four of us decided I'd buy the coffee pot.

I've now made one pot of coffee; it's very slow, and it sort of spits, but after that much time (good thing I'm retired), it's not going back.