My Coop fun really started when I left the store. I went outside with my shopping cart, one of the cute carts that holds a a small, green plastic basket, and looked for one of those orange suited Coop  cart walkers. 

A Coop cart walker is a member who basically accompanies the cart to your house and takes it back to the Food Coop. They are not supposed to push the cart and it’s optional whether they even need to help you lift your bags when you get to your destination.

Today there were no Coop cart walkers outside. There was, however, another member waiting for a walker.

"I was here first," she asserted as I rolled out of the Coop.

"I know," I said.

The woman had a wiry, high strung look. She looked toward Sixth Avenue and spotted a Coop Walker pushing a cart up the Slope.

"You think she could move any faster," she said.

"No reason to break a sweat," I said not sarcastically.

"I’ve never seen anyone move so slowly," she said.

High-Strung Member had just completed a work shift at check-out—and she was very tired. She complained that she’d had to deal with a lot of attitude and a lot of pushy, obnoxious people. "I’ve never seen anything like it," she said.

We waited quietly for the Coop Cart Walker to make it up the hill. I ate one of the vegan wraps I bought. Lentils and spinach. It was tasty.

Then I had an idea. Since there was only one Coop Cart Walker I thought, maybe, we could share her.

"Hey, which way are you going?" I asked. High Strung Member pointed toward Sixth Avenue and President. She seemed open to the idea of me putting my small box and three Amy’s pizzas in her large green shopping cart.

She seemed to like the idea. I asked the  Coop Cart Walker, a very good natured, attractive woman. She was game.

We loaded up the cart and headed toward President and Sixth Avenue. The Coop Cart Walker happily pushed our cart. High-Strung Member and  I chit chatted.

"Do you live around here," she asked. "Do you know where I can find a Notary?"

I told her about Neergard. Then we realized that the Coop Cart Walker was PUSHING OUR CART.

"Hey, you’re not supposed to be doing that," I screamed and ran up next to her.

"Well, you were eating your lunch and she just finished a long check-out shift," Coop Cart Walker said sweetly. She continued to push.

When we got to President Street, High-Strung Member said,

"I’m not here," she looked slightly embarrassed. "My car is actually parked in the other direction."

Without a moments hesitation, we all redirected ourselves and headed toward Berkeley Place. Why not, I thought, it’s just a few blocks out of my way…

"Where do you live," High-Strung Member asked. "I can drive you home."

"That’s a great idea," Coop Cart Walker said. "That way I can get back and there won’t be, like, people lined up waiting for cart walkers."

That was fine with me.

The three of us chatted all the way to Berkeley Place.High-Strung Member was still smarting from her unpleasant check-out shift. I told them about my shift, which was fairly uneventful.

High-Strung Member slowed down in front of her Subaru station wagon.

"I have a dog car," she said ominously "I hope you don’t mind."

I was in such a "whatever" mood I didn’t mind at all. Coop Cart Walker actually loaded the car and wished us both well.

"Omigod, this was so unusual. I am going to write an article about it for the Linewaiter’s Gazette," she said referring to our unusually cooperative way of getting our groceries home.

"And I’m going to write a blog post about it," I whispered to myself.