And now, a public service message...

Never go grocery shopping on the cusp of a big storm.

We here in the Nutmeg State have another f---ing snowstorm hitting us today and tomorrow. Some areas are supposed to get 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff. I had a busy week, and didn't have time to go shopping after work, so I decided to do it this morning.

I left the house at 12:30 and arrived at Price Rite 10 minutes later. There was not a single parking space in the lot. Eventually, though, I managed to find one, and navigated slowly through my way of kids running around the store, moms trying to keep their kids from running around the store, and elderly folks who stand either in the middle or at the end of the aisle, oblivious to the traffic gathering behind them.

I didn't get everything I needed at Price Rite, so I had to make a trip to Stop & Shop to pick up the rest of my list. The parking situation at Stop and Shop was worse, but that wasn't the only thing...

...there were no shopping carts in the store.

Three other people were behind me, shrugging their shoulders, as if to say, "Ya gotta be kidding me!" Fortunately for me, I didn't have that many items to buy, so I just carried around my little bag and put my groceries in there.

The last time I had ever seen a supermarket that crowded was New Year's Eve, 1999, when people were freaking out about Y2K.

People in Connecticut will freak out whenever there's an impending storm. If one flake falls to the ground people will crowd up the stores and stockpile milk, bread, and canned goods, even if it's a storm like the one we're about to have, which is mild compared to blizzard conditions.

If it's a hurricane, though, I can understand. We've been fortunate not to have a major hurricane hit since 1991, but I would be one of the first people at the grocery store to buy gallons of water in addition to bread, milk, and canned goods.

But I can handle a snowstorm. I don't drive in one when the snow's coming down at the rate of two inches an hour; I'm not crazy. When Jodi Rell tells me to stay home, I don't complain.

Digging out, however, is a bitch.

I got home a while ago, and it was flurrying when I walked through the door. I unlocked the door, brought my bags in, and the cats greeted me.

That's when I realized I forgot one very important item.

Purina Cat Chow.

I decided not to go out again, though; they've got enough food for the next two days. Besides, I don't want to deal with the elderly blocking my way again.