The Creative POV [5]: While standing in line at the grocery store...

It's not just about creativity, it's about the person you're becoming while you're creating.

- Charlie Peacock

Hello Modern Human!

Welcome to the Creative POV, where every week an artist, Jenny Whitehead, and a comedian, Mike Lukas, offer creative tips on how to put down your screen and be entertained by the world around you.

You know, like people did before the internet because they had no choice.

For this post, you’re standing in line at the grocery store.

The old fellah at the register is paying with a check, the three women in front of you have carts filled with one of everything, and the slo-mo worker ringing everyone up might be a member of the turtle family. This could take a while, so it’s tempting to get lost on your phone or tablet in that grocery line like some hypnotized zombie.

But once in a while, do what artists and comedians do and search your surroundings for creative inspiration.

Here are three tips for doing that while stuck in line at the grocery store.

Creative POV Tip 1:

Stuck in line at the grocery store?

Dare to Connect with People!

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

Time stands still when stuck standing in a slow line.

Creative people don’t waste that time.

First, I try to ignore the feeling that I’m just another cog in the system. How? I strike up a conversation with the person in front of me or behind me. I SEE them so they SEE me. Then, I am no longer just a blurry shape posing as one more obstacle between them and their car.

Standing in line gives us pause to humanize life’s players.

If I say hello to a cashier that has been standing on his feet all day, I can see his face open up and his posture lighten. If I re-interpret a scowl on the DMV lady’s face as she deals with incompetency, I begin to understand a job I would never have. And if the spirit is willing, I may attempt some witty repartee or an astute observation or at the very least, a friendly nod.

Connecting with people I would otherwise never meet keeps a mundane moment interesting.

And if they rebuff my efforts, well, then, I just add their “ugly face” to my Rolodex of images.

“You, sir, just became the face of the rude villain in my latest story.”

And on days that I’m wearing MY “ugly face” and don’t want to talk to anyone, I embrace my cog-ness and disappear inside my daydreaming head instead.

Although these are more the observations of a writer than an artist, for a creative person it all works together. The drawing of any face improves 100% if you really look at them. Getting to know them, even a little bit, puts meaning behind their smile-wrinkle lines and understanding for that dark-circle shading under their eyes.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

In the comedy world, ‘Connect with People’ is also called ‘Working the Crowd.’

Talking to strangers takes a lot of guts but cracking them up is easy if you have free cocaine or some proven go-to material.

Comedians tend to ask strangers questions to break the ice – here are a few of my favorites you can feel free to use in line at the grocery store:

Whoa, lady, you smell that? (pause) I think that’s fresh bread baking. (wink) For a second there you thought I smelled your fart, didn’t you? Hi, I’m [insert your name].

Pardon me, do you think they only have this one line open right now to give me the chance to tell you about my lord and savior, Spiderman? Just kidding, I have arachnophobia and a fear of sticky things. Spoiler alert, Stan Lee is dead. Hi, I’m [insert your name].

Excuse me, sir, why the hell do orange tic-tacs taste like baby aspirin? Are thousands of babies not taking their aspirin, so tic tac bought up all the extras? Do orange tic-tacs also thin my blood and prevent heart attacks as well as provide a tangy alternative to spearmint? Did someone at tic-tac pitch the idea that now more and more people want to snack on things that taste like medicine? What’s next, sir, chocolate bars with a hint of penicillin? Filled with Nyquil Nougat? Hi, I’m [insert your name].

Remember – people love to talk about themselves.

And you’re no exception, so feel free to ramble on about your own hopes and dreams to all the others trapped in the grocery line with you.

Example: “Folks, I’d like to use this situation to give you all a little context on why I’m here. Hell, on why we’re all here, really, you see…”

Time it so you finish when your last grocery item has been rung up and bagged.

Then turn to the group in line behind you and say, “But enough about me, how you guys doing? Hi, I’m [insert your name].”

Creative POV Tip 2:

Stuck in line at the grocery store?

Time to play, “You’re wearing WHAT?”

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

If standing in line is required, most likely fashion is optional.

Seeing what people throw on to go out in is very fascinating to a creative person (to most people, really, if you check Tik Tok).

Most people aren’t trying to impress strangers. Their wardrobe consists of any combination of colors, patterns, textures and wrinkles, as long as it semi-covers the unmentionables. Their hair is owning its own style, one not quite envisioned by the hairdresser who cut it.

For those of us taking visual notes, we get a rare look behind the curtain:

the unshaved Dad running out to buy tampons for his daughter
the God-given face under the make-up
the slouching
the gum-chewing
the nose-picking

It’s all raw data.

And it’s available for the low-low price of taking-the-time-to-look.

And if not for the insatiable need to study all things human (like artists do), than do it for the entertainment.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

One rule I always stuck to as a comedian: never make fun of anything a person might have difficulty controlling – their looks, their speech, their weight, their sexuality – all off limits, no cheap shots allowed.

That said, whatever clothes someone wears is a choice and therefore mockable.

(Not out loud – that’s a rude way to get bloody.)

When trapped in line at the grocery store, pass the time by looking around at the fashion show surrounding you and provide your own internal commentary.

“In front of me is Margaret Amplesocks. Margaret looks out of sorts but ready for spring in her cool stained cotton nightgown with a matching pair of blue and pink flowered slippers. A daring midday look for anybody in public.”

“Gleaming in his sequined skirt, Brave Bernard is in line buying mini-donuts and creamer modeling a stylish fem-denim look. It is hard to believe, but that cloth was once a pair of overalls just waiting to be torn and soiled by whatever seems to be leaking out of that man. Bernard’s moist ensemble is working overtime, also giving our noses something to think about and remember him by. Look at that well-oiled beard, he is enjoying every minute of it!”

Just remember, though, those same people are staring right back at you with their own version of that same judgmental fashion commentary running through their heads.

“Stupid yuppie behind me looks all warm and stylish in those fancy pants and that jerkoff jacket shortened to fit his or her (cain’t tell with that haircut) own personal style, giving them that middle management a-hole look so popular in this grocery store line.”

That’s why we always use our inside voices for mocking fashion and judging someone else’s baby.

Creative POV Tip 3:

Stuck in line at the grocery store?

Try Line-Time Day Dreaming!

Artist POV

Jenny Whitehead

Being stuck in a line can be boring.

And annoying.

Or, it can give you the opportunity to become the director of your own home-made-movie in your head.

All around you in the grocery store are props that can trigger an idea, a plot-line, a play:

The temptation of the Milky Way chocolate bar in the check-out aisle can play-out a scene titled ‘Lois at Weight Watchers will lecture me about impulsive eating on Saturday if I eat that…’
The travel magazines in the rack next to you can take you on a momentary cruise or hike through the Andes…
Pretend you’re a professional baseball player signing autographs while you’re stuck in line buying bubble gum…
Imagine being the one who saves the helpless victims of a massive grocery cart collision. Your picture gets in the paper. You get a reward from the Mayor. Now, you are the local hero instead of a sweaty mess buying low-fat yogurt…

Creative thinking will save you every time.

Comic POV

Mike Lukas

A comedian is a natural daydreamer, the direct result of an active imagination and frequent day drinking.

Stuck in line at the grocery story is the perfect time to spark some creative daydreaming by playing the “What if?” game.

It’s simple – just look around and find a thing, use your imagination to ask a random “What if?” about it, then yes-and it.

Here are some examples of the What If? Game at the grocery store:

My grocery cart is made of metal.

What if it was made of cheese for a new marketing venture to sell more cheddar, but the plan backfired when rats began eating the carts left out in the parking lot and poor Jimmy the cart boy lost a leg to one of the bigger rodents?

That grocery clerk is ringing up items using a cash register.

What if she was able to do the same math in her head but the one time she tried it she got in big trouble from the store manager who told her that her little inventory-bypass stunt just cost her her next week’s paycheck?

The fresh fruit and vegetable displays use an automatic watering system.

What if from four to six p.m. it sprayed beer and wine instead and the grocery store happy hour doubles the company’s revenue while simultaneously giving area singles a well-lit place to get well-lit and find a cooking / ‘cooking‘ partner?

Remember, though (to paraphrase the incomparable Stan Lee), with great imagination comes great responsibility.

In other words, when you’re stuck in line at the grocery store and you decide to use your creative imagination to entertain yourself, don’t get so caught up in your daydreams that you let the line lag.

It’s your responsibility to mind the gap, good citizen.

What if that sudden gap in the grocery line is actually a portal into another world and another grocery store that actually opens more than one line at a time during peak business hours?

Hope those give you some fun reasons to put down your screen and let the world of the grocery store entertain you for a few minutes.

Next week, we’ll go over our Top-3 creative ways to enjoy standing in a party full of strangers.

See you then!

Jenny & Mike

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