aem wrote:
> I stopped at the store to restock the larder, the list included pinto
> beans. There were two or three brands on the shelf, one of which was
> on sale, so I picked that bag. Now I'm in the checkout line and the
> woman behind me points at the bag of beans and asks, "how much were
> they?" "I don't know," I said truthfully, not bothering to say I knew
> they were the cheapest on offer. "What?! You don't know?!" and she's
> off on a whole tirade about how amazing it is to her that anyone could
> buy anything without knowing the price. And that she couldn't
> remember the last time she bought anything without knowing the price.
> None of it required any answer from me, so I didn't say anything
> more. She was still mumbling about it when I left.
>
> I think I'm as careful a shopper as most but I don't have to keep all
> the numbers in my brain, ya know? It's not as though two pounds of
> beans was gonna break my bank.

You noticed they were on sale. Presumably you would have
noticed if they were some outrageous price you wouldn't pay.
That's enough for me.

She probably thinks to herself, what a good little shopper I am,
especially compared to that one, but my money's on you. Just
because you couldn't say 99 cents or whatever, doesn't mean
you didn't have a very good idea what you'd pay at checkout.

nancy