Grocery Shopping In The Dark? Today Was A First For Me, Abilene

We've all heard the expressions before - "that was a first for me" or "I bet you didn't think you would be doing THIS when you woke up today." Thursday was one of those days for me. I had an experience I had never had before, and more than likely will never have again.

No huge deal. It was painless. Nonetheless it was a first and nothing I expected. My day was quite normal until the very end. After wrapping up my shift at the radio station, I was starting to get hungry and thinking about what to grab for dinner. Solving that was easy enough. United Supermarket at S. 14th and Willis was right on the way home.

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Things seemed normal as I walked up to the storefront, but that's where it ended. The entire store was without electricity. From what I overheard, a truck had struck a nearby utility pole, taken down a transformer, and the whole neighborhood was without power. Perhaps you noticed the extinguished streetlights while driving down S. 14th last night, or maybe even your own house was a victim.

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The store did have some emergency lamps burning as a few people still shopped. That was good enough for me. I grabbed a basket and was on my way.

Things I Learned After Grocery Shopping In The Dark

1. The typical after-work dinner crowd was sparse. For me, this was nice. It was easier to grab what I needed, and get in and out.

2. Refrigerated items are to be avoided. Better safe than sorry. The United Supermarket staff was on top of closing off those selected areas.

3. It was good to have my phone handy. Thank goodness for phone flashlights. I had to break mine out a couple times.

4. Parking was a breeze. Hey, no complaining here. It was nice to get in and out of that parking lot with ease.

If there's any moral to the story, it's that you never know what tomorrow brings. Always expect the unexpected. You never know when you might be grocery shopping in the dark.

Electricity or not, you can always fall back on a tasty food truck. Abilene has some of the best around. Check out some Big Country favorites below.