Catching ‘that guy;’ fun with couponing

I met “that guy” a couple days ago, except “that guy” was a girl.

Confused? You shouldn’t be. I guarantee you’ve met “that guy” too.

Who is “that guy?” Well, on this sunny, warm spring day, “that guy” was a woman driving a suburban-type-vehicle in a residential neighborhood.

Like most motorists that day, she had her windows down on the vehicle, enjoying the sunny skies and balmy temperatures.

Unlike most motorists though, her car contained at least one flying projectile in the form of a fast food wrapper.

Stopped at an intersecting stop sign, I saw the wrapper float out of the back window. I heard a child’s voice but couldn’t understand it, but I presume he/she stated some form of astonishment based on their mother’s response of: “It’s okay honey. It’s just a wrapper.”

Just a wrapper. That’s very true. I watched it float away and it became just a wrapper in someone elses front lawn, waiting expectantly for that lawn mower.

I’ve been running that lawnmower and not seen that wrapper and turned it into lawn confetti and at that moment, I’m thinking “what guy threw a freaking McDonalds wrapper in my front yard?”

Now I know. She drives a suburban.

Maybe you’ve met that guy at a park. He’s the one with the dog that leaves the mess you just stepped in.

Or maybe you’ve met that guy at the city brush site. You know, he’s the one dumping a bed mattress in the grass clippings section and then lighting it on fire. That guy is much more annoying than the dog owner or the littering-McDonalds-connisseiur, but the point remains the same.

There are “that guys” all over the place disregarding funeral processions, driving around school busses and filling our streets ditches and shoulders with garbage.

I would imagine that guy is getting pretty old now though as I’m equally sure he’s been around for many, many years.

Will he ever go away entirely? Not a chance.  In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder if the newest generation of “that guys” wasn’t in the backseat of that surburban, learning from his/her mother that a wrapper flying out of your car into someone else’s yard isn’t that big of deal.

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This week’s edition is carrying a lifestyles theme to it, similar to past editions that focused on health and education in the county.

We have stories on mushroom hunting, race car driving, and even a bunch of hookers from Hastings.

But the one I had the most fun writing was on our local extreme couponers.

The story was interesting on many levels, not the least of which was learning how people walk out of a store with a $1,000 worth of stuff after paying just $5.

What intrigued me most though was the hesitancy to talk about their hobby by some people.

One woman in fact who runs her own business in town declined to be interviewed out of fear of being viewed as odd.

I could sympathize, as there does appear to be a sort of negative connotation with buying 80 tubes of toothpaste.

I don’t agree with it though.

The stores set their policies and they certainly aren’t being taken advantage of.

Regardless, it was a fun story to write and hopefully, you’ll have fun reading it too.

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at  publisher@redoakexpress.com