Collegiate Times

The idea of something being homemade or having a homemade flavor invokes a wide range of emotion on an even greater range of people. For instance, homemade barbecue ribs may remind someone of the Fourth of July picnic when her hair caught on fire and she was forced to wear a wig for the next six months — in which time she fell in love with a Panamanian carpet salesman named Fernando, only to have her heart broken when Fernando learned that his love was not naturally bald. And to somebody else, those same exact barbecue ribs may only recall thoughts of diarrhea.

A much more common emotion, while as subtle as it may be, is the feeling of love attached to the grocery store’s homemade food. When most of us were young, we had someone older who cooked food for us. In the majority of cases, that older person also loved us. The next time you eat a store bought oven baked chicken, you might think to yourself, “This is pretty good,” but subconsciously be reminded of your dear old mother with the nine lip rings and the inverted cross-cornea tattoos.

Finally, the last aspect of the seemingly ordinary grocery store is the connection to nature. Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels ranted about how dehumanizing modern labor was because workers were separated from nature. The grocery store is the perfect example of the union between man and nature: natural products grown, produced, packaged, distributed and put on display thanks to man’s mastering of science. Food items from all over the world are brought to your local produce aisle just for you. This is more than the union of man in nature but a display of capitalism and the benefits of globalism.

Your local grocer is more than just a place to buy food, it’s a place to relax and reflect. When the pressure of absolute failure engulfs your soul and you can see a life of abject poverty as clear as day before your eyes, take a walk down the soup aisle. Look at all the hard work that has been done for your benefit. Enjoy the attention that modern grocery stores dispense to its customers, and feel one with nature.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 10 issue of the Collegiate Times.