Farmer's Market bargains and not so great buys

Doc informed me this morning that he was going to the store early so as to beat the heat, so I decided to go over to the Circle K to purchase drinking water, pulling my little water cart. Right off I encountered a group of 46 people standing in front of a big casino bus pulled up to the Westward Ho. They were all disgruntled because the driver had just told them that since 4 people did not show up they would not be going. They pleaded and begged but the driver refused to take them minus 4 and drove off leaving them standing there. I spotted a pool player from over to the Silvercrest and his girlfriend, and was shocked when she refused to speak to me, and instead pulled on her BF's arm to indicate I was there. I had not been over to the Silvercrest to play pool for months so I was quite surprised to be greeted in this fashion by the GF of one of the pool players. I had actually asked her several times while I was playing over there a few months if she minded if I played with J. She always assured me she did not mind, but I finally decided that this really could not go on and I had better give up playing pool altogether rather than cause any trouble between a player and his GF especially since I was not interested in him personally at all. He just liked to play pool. The others were not visibly attached to any women so I did not think I would cause trouble for them. One had a wife at home, but I hoped she would not hear about the woman pool player down to the Senior Center who was putting all the men in danger.
I had duly given up pool, but a few months later some vandal broke all the pool sticks in our WHo pool room, so everyone stopped playing pool. They were all younger and I wasn't playing pool with them anyway. Doc had bought me a black stick with a red flame going down it, but I could see that inflammatory stick was not one I should be playing with at all. I could see this morning that my pool playing days had better be over.
I went on over to the Circle K and bought a gallon of drinking water, a cup of coffee, a donut, a small bottle of milk, and a newspaper. The donut was my first in several weeks, but I immediately felt guilty when I saw a headline in the paper that said, "25percent of the citizens in Arizona obese!" I had actually been doing quite well dropping the pounds I had gained while I was sick and unable to walk, and had even gone swimming 4 times this week, but there was no question I was still obese. How had I ever let myself get so fat in the first place? That was a question to ponder as I read the story about all the obese people in the US.
In the meantime more people joined me out in the patio and pretty soon a heated argument broke out. Two men were soon shouting at one another and calling each other names like 'snitch,' 'asshole' etc. Some scattered but I held my ground as I had not not been out there for some time, not since a fight involving one of the participants had erupted the last time I went out there. It looked like the participant in both of the fights was headed for eviction. But several of us had managed to hold on to our good moods and as soon as the fight died down we continued to visit and exchange joking comments about the uproar.
I decided Doc might have returned so made ready to depart after taking some good natured jiving about my old alcoholic BF. I defended Doc saying he was the best alcoholic I knew. They jeered good naturedly, but they knew it was useless to try to drive a wedge between us by sneering at Doc as we had weathered 5 years together and were impervious to criticism.
I found Doc at home and found out he had purchased a sausage and biscuit for me at McDonalds so now I was going to be subjected to the temptation of still another fattening addition to my breakfast. Shamelessly I ate the sausage and biscuit, too, deciding to go for a late lunch. Doc then said he would go to the Farmer's Market with me to buy a water melon. He still had some coupons left over from the food bank to spend, which are only good for Farmer's Market produce.
We went over and I added carrots, onion, peaches, and tomatoes to his watermelon. He spent some time picking out a nice one, he thought. Who can tell about watermelon? Who indeed.
I purchased a cucumber somewhere else and a loaf of bread since I had none. Instead of whole grain I did another no no and bought a loaf of sliced French sourdough. I told him to go on home if he liked as I needed to buy some milk and a whole chicken inside. He tried to talk me out of buying the chicken, saying he could get one cheaper to the store. I said the whole point of my eating poultry, fish, and meat again is to buy chicken that has been raised in a decent way on a farm instead of in those horrible poultry factories. That is no life for a chicken. The organic whole chicken I bought was $6. I intended to saute it a little and then I would make chicken soup out of it with carrots, onions, and rice. I had given him some before and he agreed it was a delicious flavor after he had spiced it up a little.
I bought an avocado and some vinegar and oil dressing made by an Indian woman which was delicious, but quite pricey at $6. I always tear off the labels when Doc might see them and give me lectures about how cheap he can buy the same thing at a big grocery store. I no longer go to any of these chain grocery stores at all. I am a Farmer's Market customer all the way.
I don't see that my grocery bill has gone up, since I don't buy as much, because the choices are less. I already had some plain yogurt at home. I decided I would try some of it in my chicken soup when I made it.
When I got home Doc did not inspect my food purchases for price, so guess he is giving up on that. He wanted me to cut the watermelon and take some of it home. I told him to cut it, so he did, and said I might not like it. Well, that watermelon was yellow instead of the watermelon red I love so much! I said I would taste it. I did and I was sorry I had to tell him that it tasted like it has been crossed with winter squash, which is why they always told us not to plant watermelon and squash side by side. But the heat is headed up to 111 today and I just could not trudge back over there and get another watermelon, and he had already gone to the grocery store so he couldn't either. Why don't they give us the kind of water melon we want instead of yellow ones without warning? Watermelons are always somewhat of a risky buy, but yellow when we just want red? Come on!
Doc was downcast. He takes this kind of misfortune hard. I tried to convince him it was not his fault. But I could not lie to him. What would you have done? I didn't take my half home because I knew I would just throw it away. I am funny that way. I want my watermelon to taste like watermelon.
Otherwise all is well.