The Ranger wrote:

>
> I leave my carts "somewhere in the parking lot," too. The two TJ's
> I current patronize have cart corrals throughout their respective
> lots so I don't ever walk mine back to the front of the store...

Heh. Around here (RSA) there is a "Clever Plan". Lots of would-be
homeless people and/or so-called "under qualified" people work as "car
guards" in the various shopping mall parking lots... They are either
"self employed" or work for a "car guard" company. These people wear a
sort of "apron/uniform" that identifies them and they keep an eye on
your car while you are shopping (car theft is rife here). They survive
on "donations" doled out by grateful people like me - and it seems to
earn them a living, because they are all over the place. I know some of
them "personally" - as they have been working at the same shopping malls
for years!

However, the big bonus is this: they always rush over to help shoppers
who are pushing their carts back to their cars to off-load them and then
they return the carts to the respective stores...

It works well. Gives some people a (sort of) job - who would otherwise
be jobless - cuts down on the car theft AND the shopping carts get
returned to their rightful place back at the store (without one having
to return the cart oneself). Think they might also earn a "finders fee"
for returning the carts to the stores too. Those carts are expensive, so
if they "go missing"... - probably saves the stores a fortune.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible