So Many Choices

Have you ever gone into a store to buy something, only to be totally confused by all the choices available to you for that particular thing? It seems nothing is simple anymore when it comes to making decisions. Not only are there many different brands of each item, but each brand has several choices also. Take for instance these two staples found in my cupboard: tea and crackers.

I don't know how many brands of tea one can choose from, this just happens to be what we use, so, that's the first decision. Now, notice there is regular tea and green tea, another choice. The latter has three new choices: orange, passion fruit and jasmine -- lemon gensing -- citrus; we chose citrus. The orange, passion fruit and jasmine tasted like perfume to me and we haven't tried the lemon.

Here again, I don't know how many brands of crackers are on the store shelves, but these are the ones we usually buy; another choice. Now we have to pick, original, multi-grain, or whole wheat. And it's the same with milk; pick a brand first, then decide, do we want whole milk, 2%, 1%, skimmed, or lactose free? Pull into a fast food place and there on the chart is a great selection of sandwiches, burgers, fries, tots, sundaes, cones, slushes.

That's just in the food category; it gets worse in the shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste aisles! Do I buy unscented, scented, roll-on, spray, or maybe powdered spray? Which would be best for my hair? a generic brand or the "real" thing? They're mixed together, you know, same color containers, same wording; maybe the manufacturers think I won't notice and pick up the real thing since it costs more. There's a bottle for dry hair, another for oily hair, one for dandruff and flaking scalp, one with conditioner; maybe one for regular hair? But the toothpaste shelves are the worst! One choice on top of the other! no end to the brands available: gels and pastes, some claiming to whiten the teeth, some to have tarter control, and others to have cavity protection. Others go so far as to add a breath freshener. Just pick up one and go on! I asked the dentist once to recommend a toothpaste and he told me it didn't matter, because toothpaste is to teeth, what soap is to hands. The main thing is to use it daily!

These choices have invaded the clothing world too. Now when I want to buy a pullover shirt I have to pick from crew necks, turtlenecks, V-necks, and hoodies. Jeans are a real problem when it comes to buying; do I get cords or denim, stretch in the fabric, low rise, mid rise, or fits at the waist? And don't forget the leg styles: boot cut or straight.

I've come to this conclusion: it takes all kinds of people to make the world go around, and we in America have come to expect several choices when purchasing an item. However, I can't keep from thinking about the little main street cafe, Frank's Cafe, where we would occasionally stop in to buy a hamburger. You didn't make a decision about what you wanted, but ate with gratefulness, the plain bun and meat patty, topped with two or three dill pickle slices, called a hamburger.

So, the next time you get behind some little old woman, blocking the toothpaste aisle, just be patient; she's having a hard time making a choice.