Me Being Obsessive--As Usual

We just came back from an overnight road trip.  We actually haven't had one of our trips in a couple of months--the timing has been bad with K doing overtime and all.  So, this was a very nice outing.  Of course, we did far too much shopping and went to eat with our best friends--nothing spectacular, but a nice change of pace from our 'normalcy,' as it always is.  The last thing we do before leaving the town we go to is stop at Sam's Club and do our final 'spending of the money.'  We 'take orders' from friends and family and pick up whatever is needed, along with our own needs.  And it was in Sam's Club that one of my ugly obsessions came to the forefront.

When I buy something, I want it to be in pristine condition.  Whether it is a box of cereal (do NOT try and sell me a box with a bent corner), a can of beans (I won't accept a label that has a tear in it), or an apple (NO bruises at all), I want it perfect.  And there is NO living with me when the purchases are bigger:  my car better GLOW with shininess--and NO barely perceptible streaks;  my washing machine better not have a ding, scratch, or dent;  and my couch better have even seams and matching patterns.  If I'm paying the big bucks they are charging, everything better be to my satisfaction.  However, one thing bothers me more than the others and that is magazines and books that have been read and mishandled and put back on the shelf.  I hate wanting a book and finding only one copy that has bent pages or a wrinkled dust jacket.  It drives me insane to get a book in the mail and finding the corner of the cover bent.  Most of my books look like new AFTER I have read them, so I don't want them to look abused even before I get my hands on them.

Today in Sam's Club I had to hold back from going off the deep end.  There at the book table were several children going through all of the books willy-nilly.  They were playing with the 'read-to-me' features and over-extending the 'pop-up' books.  And I KNOW the books had to have that 'well read' look to them after the kids were done.  The kids were at the table by themselves with no grown-up to be seen.  It was obvious that this was where the parents dropped the kids off so that they could shop in peace.**  While I encourage reading in kids--and books are the ONLY gifts our grandkids get from us at Christmas--I don't like it when parents use the 'for sale' books as babysitters in stores.  At least at Barnes & Noble, they have a reading table--with books on it-- for kids to look at so that they don't have to be taking the ones off of shelves.  I really wonder how much money stores lose because of 'damaged' books that can't be sold as new?


**I have seen parents allow their kids to play with stuffed animals and any toys with noise, etc, features, also.  I can't imagine giving some of these toys as gifts after having tons of grubby, dirty, germy hands playing with them beforehand.  {shudder}