I had a bad experience in the grocery store the other day. I had been trying to find a nut-free gingerbread house for my son to decorate. I had gone to three different stores looking for one. Finally I found one that was pre-assembled, which was crucial, because I've tried to put gingerbread houses together before, only to have them fall over or look terribly lopsided and it didn't put me in a festive mood, to say the least. Anyway, I was at the check-out. The cashier couldn't find the price of it on file so he had to call a manager over. When the manager came back after looking for the price, he had a different gingerbread house in his hands. He told me he couldn't find the price so he wanted me to take the other house. I shook my head. "No, I can't take that one. It has nuts. My son has a nut allergy. That's why I picked THIS house." The manager began to look panicked. "But how do you know that one is okay?" I was quickly losing patience. "I have had a son with a nut allergy for eight years and I know what I am doing," I informed him, not very nicely. The manager went away again and came back with a woman who worked there. She asked me how I knew the house I was buying was safe for my son. I showed them the label that listed allergens such as wheat and soy. It didn't list nuts. The woman told me that unless it had a 'no nut' symbol on the box that it wasn't okay. I was really getting frustrated. "No!" I insisted. "That isn't true. There is a law that allergens have to be listed. That's why they listed the other allergens! The product was made in Canada and that is a law here." The manager looked anxiously at me. "I'd hate to guarantee anything from our store." Okay, that was it. My son has to eat, doesn't he? Food comes from a grocery store, doesn't it? What do they want me to do? Forage in my backyard for wild berries and mushrooms? Start taking out the small animals that cross my deck with a slingshot? Let's be rational, people. Pour me an eggnog and make it a double.
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