Ring it up

Alysha Orrok

Back in the days when I was a grocery clerk, the cashier had to punch in the price of every item on a cash register and then put everything in brown paper bags. While we did that, we could look out of the cave windows and see dinosaurs and pterodactyls running around on the parking lot.  

Yes, it's been a long time since I got paid to put vienna sausages, ginger ale and Fig Newtons in bags for people. Now, if I can, I give the cashier a hand by putting my purchases in bags, but I really have to hurry, because the Cheez-Its, bottles of seltzer, and cat food really come flying down that belt, because they scan prices today and it's a lot faster than punching in the price of one can of Hawaiian Punch.

So...being Americans, we turn this into a competition, because everything here is a big contest.  Say hello to Alysha Orrok, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ms Orrok is a schoolteacher who finds the energy somehow to work nights and weekends at a Hannaford Supermarket up there. 

She won the state competition for the Fastest Bagger, and now is headed to the national finals. This will probably be televised on ESPN, the channel that brings you the Hot Dog Eating contest on July 4 every summer. The contest will be held in Las Vegas this February, in case you want to travel to see it. Top prize is $10,000: righteous bucks for anyone, especially someone working two jobs!

"Every time I go to the grocery store I have a big pet peeve of how groceries are packed, so I am thrilled to hear there is a competition in bagging," said one of Orrok’s regular customers, Kashka Hughes Clark (no relation, trust me). 

Another of Ms Orrok's regulars, Frank Desper, was quoted by the local news up there as saying, "I don’t want my bread smashed." 

And I believe Frank speaks for us all.

There is a knack to bagging groceries and it involves putting the heavy stuff on the bottom of the bags and the bread and eggs on top, and distributing the items within several bags so you don't have people walking out with a heavy bag in one hand and a light one in the other. These people are known in the grocery business as "leaners."

I think I need to make a run up to Portsmouth to see what goes on in this Hannaford store, because, well, let's let Ms Orrok say it: "When I am here, people get excited when I am bagging their groceries." 

She also told the news, "My first day as a bagger I dropped a soda and it exploded everywhere." 

I'm glad I wasn't there for that.  Cleanup on register 6!