About five years ago I was in the parking lot of a big box store, probably Costco, and I saw the most sophisticated form of cartherding on the planet: guy driving a little electric tractor pushes a line of seeming hundreds of grocery carts gracefully across the lot. As he went by, warning lights flashing and horn beeping, everybody in the lot turned to watch, like he was an unexpected parade float. The fact that I remember this is further proof that the dial on my excitement meter only goes up to about five.
Not that Dill's goes any higher.
Those electric tractors are truly something to behold. Man and machine, working together to make the parking lot a better place.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who worked at a grocery store - he'd always volunteer to herd because it made him feel more masculine. I had to agree.
I worked for Lauer's grocery store for 3 years in high school. Carthering was a great way to clear one's thoughts. Some days I would stand guard like a sentinel, chasing down any stray carts that dared trespass on my parking lot. Other days I would let it pile up just so I could see how many carts I could push at once.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorite of the early Post strips. Nice to see the concept coming back.
At the museum I work in, we had a curator from England stop by. When we were showing him our scanning database of 500000 medical photos, we asked what he wanted to search for. He said, "Tractors."
ReplyDeleteFound some too.
So Richard, you and Dill are not alone.
I always feel sorry for those guys when it's raining.
ReplyDeleteFascinating story! Although I would prefer the term cartherd, as in goatherd or shepherd.
ReplyDeleteLike a Zamboni (sp) every time I see a cart tractor I really want to drive one, lights flashing horn tooting how cool is that...
ReplyDeleteI work for a grocery company and so I love the idea that someone would want to be a "cart herder"... a noble start to a career in the grocery business!
ReplyDeleteDrawing shopping carts is the hardest thing to draw in the world! And you drew a million of 'em brilliantly!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone seen this? http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Shopping-Carts-Eastern-America/dp/0810955202 I wonder if Dill's family has anything to do with it.
ReplyDelete