it never fails...

...leave the house looking like a slob to go grocery shopping at 11pm, and you're guaranteed to end up inadvertently walking onto a movie set.

Well, not quite. But almost.

I was ready for bed, sans make-up, with frizzy post-showered hair, wearing essentially a pajama ensemble that was barely passable as public-appropriate (if a little white trash: tank top and stretchy pants, not the fancy stylish work-out kind), when I decided I couldn't postpone a trip to the store another day (last roll of toilet paper, you know). Knowing there would be no one to impress at the local grocery at this time of night, I gave little thought to my less than put-together appearance.

When I pulled up, I noted a huge Penske truck out front, with all these hoses and generators leading into the store. I thought it curious, but for all I knew, these were regular happenings at the Decatur Kroger on Thursday nights. Or maybe on this particular night, there was some maintenance issue that needed to be fixed? A leaky roof requiring sump-pumps and hoses, or the installation of a floor, or hell, you got me, I just needed some spinach and yogurt and something to wipe my butt with, what did I care? Sure, the truck was blocking the normal entrance, but I didn't think it was necessarily on purpose. And yes, there was a little orange traffic cone in front of the automatic doors, but I was oblivious.

So I stroll in with my grocery cart to have the following crowd staring at me: Tarzan, a few cast-members from the Wizard of Oz, and a man dressed in a bear suit. All in full costume and make-up. That's when I noticed the many bright set-lights all around, the fancy television camera perched just to my left, and then shortly after, that startled, slightly embarrassed realization hit me, that I was standing somewhere I was not supposed to be. And trapped! Those crafty thespians had sufficiently blocked off their corner from the rest of the store, and how! The little off-limits drama-space I'd wandered into was on lock down. With an awkward little, "sorry!", I sheepishly made my way toward the perimeter, where I saw a tiny path I could maybe squeeeeze my way through toward Destination: Produce, and a nice tech girl helped move a big trash can out of the way so I could pass. When I asked her the cause of the hullabaloo, she informed me that they're filming a commercial for the Georgia Lottery. Right in my neighborhood Kroger!

So, boys and girls, just when you think it's safe, for instance, to wander outta the house at 2 am with greasy, disheveled hair, racoon eyes, and wearing only gym shorts and a sports bra - by all means, be yourself, but - keep in mind there might be a camera and a throng of small-time actors waiting for you at your destination.