The universe occasionally finds a need to test my sense of humor, and, for some reason, it chooses the peculiar locale of the Haggen parking lot for these trials. This is the third time the focus of my writing is the fifty-foot stretch between my favorite parking spot and the supermarket’s front door.

I had finished shopping and was about to transfer groceries to the car when a sudden gust of wind snatched my shopping list from the cart and sent it flying across the parking lot. When I tried ...