The place where we buy most of our groceries is perhaps unfortunately named: BJ's. It's similar to Costco or Sam's Club, but a LOT closer to my house.
A few years ago on a Saturday I drug all three of my (then little) kids with me to pick up milk and whatnot. The trip was uneventful, and as I was loading kids and groceries into the car, I spotted a flash of red in the bed of the pickup truck parked next to our station wagon. I moved around the car, ostensibly for a cautious check of my youngest daughter's carseat buckles, but in reality for a more proper determination of exactly what we were dealing with. Sure enough, a dusty but genuine red Jumbo Joe. Hmmm, what to do?
Because it was a hot day, I turned on my car to cool off the kids. And perhaps for the same reason, I noticed that a woman was sitting in the passenger seat of the pickup with the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on. I very carefully approached her window, smiling wide as a sign of friendship. And I thought it best to begin not with an offer to purchase: "Hello. Wow, that is a beautiful grill you have there!"
This is of course a very odd way to begin a conversation with a stranger, even more so if the two people (as it turns out) do not share a language. The poor woman looked very concerned as I tried to remember some ancient Spanish vocabulary buried in my brain. And of course the more I tried the more worried she became. First the window was rolled up, and then the cell phone was proffered. I assumed in an effort to reach her husband inside.
Now. Well. If I took off now, they might chase me down as some kind of predator, right? I needed to ride this out and at least let the gentleman know that I meant no harm. In the meantime, I felt like it was slightly more acceptable for me to look in the bed of the truck... the site was sad, my friends. That poor grill had been attached to the bed of the truck by one of those U-shaped bike locks. Lord only knows how long it had been rolling and bashing around back there. Poor thing! This was in the early days of WKC, and the thought flashed through my brain, "Oh, this is what everyone means by doing a 'Rescue'!"
Sure enough, within a few minutes a man came walking out of the store, fairly quickly. He carried a flat of water bottles. I was by now leaning against my station wagon, trying to appear non-threatening. He glared at me, and I greeted him with a smile:
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to scare your wife. I was just trying to compliment her on this beautiful grill!"
Still wary, and thankfully understanding me much more than his wife, he tossed his water into the bed of the truck. Then asked, perplexed, "You wanted to say that you like the grill?"
"Yes, very much." I pretended to move toward my car door, thanking him.
In a flash, his skepticism turned to optimism: "You like the grill my friend?"
"Yes, it's really nice!"
With a twinkle in his eye he said, "You want to buy it?"
Feigning surprise, I mumbled that yes, I suppose I might be interested in buying it.
The bidding started at $20, was countered by $50, and we settled on $40. I was feeling a little embarrassed by my poor negotiating skills, until I got home and sheepishly posted some photos here at WKC. Where I was assured that I had made a pretty good deal, and that I shouldn't expect to see another JJ like that in the wild. And true enough, I found a black JJ for
@teerhardy ($20), and another for my father-in-law ($30 I think), but this is the only red I've seen since (other than here on WKC, but this is some kind of alternate universe for rare Weber kettles).
PS. Yes, I still shop at this store. And yes, I always park in the same spot if it's open. And yes, my kids still scan the parking lot for grills in the beds of trucks.
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