The Tale Of The Missing Twelve-Pack

Recently, Facebook reminded me of a post I had written (on Facebook) five years ago called "The Tale of the Missing Twelve-Pack." I read it and thought, "Wow, that's actually a pretty cool story. I wonder why I didn't turn it into a blog post?" I couldn't think of any good reason why I didn't, and so, five years later, here is that story.

Last week Wednesday I bought, among other things, a twelve-pack of Laurelwood IPA from my neighborhood Fred Meyer. At home about an hour later, I thought, "Okay, maybe I'll have a beer with dinner." But when I looked for the beer, it was nowhere to be found!

I looked in the usual place that I store beer and other beverages. Not there. I thought, "Okay, it must still be in the car." I looked in the car. Not there. I thought, "Really? Where else could I have put it?"

After checking every possible location multiple times, I came to the conclusion that the beer was simply not anywhere within the vicinity of my house. I mentally retraced my steps. Could I have left it on the Fred Meyer U-Scan? Not likely. Could I have left it in the shopping cart? Possible, but not probable. Could it have been stolen by wizards, or perhaps somehow lost in the Matrix? That seemed to be the most logical explanation, so I decided to chalk it up to a learning experience and then forget about it.

Then this evening, there I was, back at the Fred Meyer U-Scan once again. As I was scanning groceries and making sure to bag cold stuff with other cold stuff, the attendant comes up to me and says, "Hey, did you lose a twelve-pack of beer last week?"

Me, attention piqued: "Why, yes. Yes, I did!"

Him: "Laurelwood, right?"

Me, pleasantly surprised: "Indeed!"

Him: "I remember you! Yeah, someone found it in a cart in the parking lot and turned it in. If you go over to customer service they might still have it."

I went over to customer service. They did not have it, but they did have a record of it. A very nice young woman there suggested that if I go over to the beer and wine department, I should be able to pick up this long-lost (okay, week-lost) twelve-pack of beer.

So I did. And the two gentlemen there were very courteous and helpful. I reclaimed my lost treasure and headed out, faith in humanity restored. At least for the moment.

Moral of the story: Fred Meyer is awesome. And so is the person who decided to turn in my purchase rather than take it home and drink it themselves.