I find myself at the grocery checkout quite often these days. Lines are long and I have time to idly “check out” the groceries of the person in front of me. I’m not sure if this is my own strange idiosyncrasy or if many people do this, but I do look at what people are buying and sort of ponder it.

I look first at what they’re buying. What’s in your cart is quite often a reflection of the purchaser. Diapers, baby food, baby wipes, of course, denote a new parent. Large purchases of beer or wine, chips and dip, and chicken wings says “Super Bowl Party!” in January (although you have to buy the wings ahead of time—I guarantee there will be no wings available come Super Bowl Sunday). Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and organic products say health conscious shopper.

What’s almost as fun to check out…