The all powerful grocery checkout belt divider

What is with people not wanting their items out of their immediate control? I am standing in the express check out line with my three items. and there are two other people in front of me with their few items. Well there is paying guy, control freak guy and me. So, of course paying guy needs a price checked. so we are all waiting.

The clerk has left the belt running and control freak guy is not letting his items slide forward to the check out area, he is maintaining this death grip on his supplies. Does he not know the power of the grocery check out divider? Nothing can get past this thing, it is like the condom of the check out line. Each of us being kept safe from the purchases of others touching our soon to be possessions.

Nope, this guy is holding on to his items letting the belt slide underneath them. So, just as an experiment, I put down one of the all powerful belt dividers and set my items down and let them travel their course toward the clerk. I thought that maybe control freak guy just needed guidance to show him the way of the check out line. Wrong again, he actually picked up his items and let mine go by. With a look of disbelief he looked at me as if to ask why I had let my three offending items slide toward his willy-nilly to almost have a collision. I looked right back at him and smiled. You know the one, the smile you give to people you see on the street just to appear friendly. Then I went back to my gossip rag perusing.

So paying guy is done with his price check on the snickers bar he was buying, and control freak guy steps up as the clerk was reaching to remove the force field of a check out belt divider. In a shrill voice that I never would have thought could come from this 6'4" bruiser, I hear "THOSE AREN'T MINE!" as he hands his items over the check writing stand to the checker. I think everyone within a 3 check stand raidius jumped at that. I tried not to laugh, but I am sure one of those half snort things came out my nose.

The rest of his transaction went off smoothly and he walked out with his 17 cents in savings and a confused look on his face. I stepped up to the clerk and we made eye contact and when he looked over my shoulder and saw CFG was out the door he looked back, smiled and asked what happened. I just smiled and said "I think I caused a melt down"

Hail the all powerful grocery check out divider.