Shopping

Well, as you can see from the lack of posts last week, nothing all that interesting occurred during my "Bachelor Week." I stayed up late, ate unhealthy food and missed my family. That's about it.

On the other hand, this is a new week and with a new week comes a fresh opportunity to do something stupid. For example.....

This past Monday, I stopped at JCPenney to take a look at suit coats. Their prices are usually fair and I like their options. After trying on several coats, I settled on one I liked. I was in a good mood because the cashier gave me an extra 10% off the already discounted price.

As I turned to leave the store, I saw a friend off in the distance. He was carrying a small bag and was walking toward the center area of the mall. This friend happens to be another pastor and he's about twice my size.

Being the kind of person I am, I thought it would be comical to sneak up behind him. When I noticed the bag, I thought it would be especially funny to grab it and run.

I crossed through the store and got about 100 feet behind him. Very quietly, I quickened my pace and inched closer and closer. He was about 20 feet from the store exit when I caught up to him and, from behind, I grabbed the bag from his hand. (I discovered later that the bag contained a nice necklace he had just purchased for his wife for their anniversary).

As I grabbed the bag, he quickly turned in my direction with both hands in the air as if he was going to grab me. His face went completely white and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. As I stood there smiling, it took him a second or two to realize that he hadn't been mugged. It was quite funny to watch his stunned face melt into laughter.

Even funnier was the response of the other shoppers who watched this happen. This was the first time I have ever witnessed an entire section of a retail store laugh in unison.

I'm pretty sure that pastors were better behaved in public when I was a kid.