No (we)evil lost is wail'd when it is gone.*
October 11, 2006
For the past month, my husband (Roger) has been telling me that our local grocery store, Tom Thumb, is becoming a bit ghetto. I have never paid attention to him until recently.
While I was at home cooking this weekend, Roger ran a couple errands for me. One errand was to Tom Thumb for flour. I forgot the purpose of the second errand because Roger came home five hours later. Apparently he needed to balance a quick trip to the grocery store with an all-day excursion to Best Buy.
When he opened the flour to pour it into its canister, something caught his eye. Something small. And dark. And possibly moving.
And then he saw another.
I was watching him stare inside the bag, wondering whether this was a ritual of his, when something on the outside of the bag caught my eye. Something small. And dark. And definitely moving.
“I think there are bugs in here.”
"..."
“Sweetie, I found bugs in the flour.”
“That’s nasty. We need to take that back.”
“Okay.”
And then Roger bagged up the flour and placed it on our kitchen floor, where it has been sitting for the past two days.
Today I bought more flour at a different store, but tonight returned to our Tom Thumb (where I was shopping, again) to pick up a few additional items. No meal in our house is complete unless I’ve been to the grocery store at least three times to purchase what I’ve forgotten. While there, I spoke with the manager of non-perishable goods.
“Hi, I bought Gold Medal All-Purpose flour here just two days ago, and it had bugs in it. I already bought more flour at a different store, but just thought you should know that the flour is … bad.”
The print on this bag of flour says "Better if used by 11MAR08"
“Oh, it had weevils in it?”
“Um, I don’t know what they were. Just…bugs. Little ones.”
“Yeah, honey, those are just weevils. They won’t hurt you.”
“You’re saying I should just use flour with bugs in it? Like, just cook up some biscuits, bugs and all?”
“Weevils are in all grains – they’re in every bag of flour. It’s just that sometimes you can’t see them. And since it’s warm outside, they’re probably just hatching.”
"..."
"..."
“Okay. Thanks.”
I didn’t want to argue with her, particularly because I’m not well-versed in weevils. I mean, what do you say to that? I have bugs hatching in my flour, and it shouldn’t matter? THAT MATTERS TO ME. I have lived in Texas for twenty years, and it is hot in Texas nine months of the year. This is the first time I’ve ever seen bugs in my flour. Hatching. (They were HATCHING. IN MY FLOUR.)
As soon as I got home, I dropped all my groceries on the kitchen counter and researched weevils on the World Wide Web of Knowledge. And do you know what I learned? If ingested, E. coli and other various diseases can be contracted from weevils, depending on their diet.
AND THE MANAGER DIDN’T THINK THAT E.COLI SHOULD BOTHER ME.
I think a letter to Tom Thumb is in my very near future.
The Comedy of Errors, Act IV, Scene II, Shakespeare
Comments
I just threw up in my mouth a little. Hell yes, a Letter, a PROTEST OUTSIDE THE STORE with pickets lines is in order. Gross. I hope she refunded your money at least?
Posted by: CPA Mom | October 11, 2006 10:22 AM
Uh, yeah. That clerk is so very wrong. Weevils are common, sure, but dude, if it's moving. MOVING. Throw it out. A heavy infestation can also make it more likely to be moldy, which can be toxic (or so the Internets tell me). And uh, E.Coli.
What an asshole. I'm so mad on your behalf.
Posted by: jonniker | October 11, 2006 10:26 AM
Ew, that manager probably eats weevils all the time! EW EW EW EW EW
I am not very picky, but I do try to stick with the rule of not eating live bugs.
You are really into bugs these days: first the roaches, now the weevils.
Posted by: -R- | October 11, 2006 11:05 AM
Ug, -R-: I am not PURPOSEFULLY into bugs. It just sort of happens upon me.
And then I impose it on you.
Posted by: jes | October 11, 2006 11:11 AM
Ewwwwww! I'm not going to be able to look in my flour canister for weeks now, lest I discover something (we)evil lurking in there!
Posted by: Daily Tragedies | October 11, 2006 11:18 AM
Ya, they should have run around courting you like a queen. Weevils are NOT harmless. Go back and tell the manager what you were told. You should get a shopping spree for that.
They do appear in flour as eggs though. Best thing to do is freeze the flour before eating it. I understand the eggs are in the flour and you can't do anything about it, but freezing kills the eggs or something and they are harmless.
Your Tom Thumb is ghetto.
~Jef
Posted by: Thunderfish | October 11, 2006 11:33 AM
NASTY! Well, for the record, some stores do send back flour with weevils. My ex-husband worked at Falley's a hundred years ago, and I remember him telling me one time that he had to take all the flour off the shelf and restock because of weevils. So, did she not let you return it?
Posted by: Ang | October 11, 2006 11:37 AM
Did you know that if you remove the head of a weevil that it can live for another week?
Posted by: ben | October 11, 2006 11:52 AM
Love the close up drawing btw.
No post is complete without a Jes original.
Posted by: ben | October 11, 2006 11:52 AM
Weevils are very common in flour. You should not have to pay for the privilege of receiving them, however. I would contact Tom Thumb's corporate office AND the state consumer affairs office. That is just wrong.
Posted by: Suebob | October 11, 2006 12:05 PM
I think I just threw up in my mouth a bit. Ewww. Just EWWWWW. And with the way E. coli is going around latey...eh...barf.
Thank, God for Suebob's more articulate comment above. Because all I've got is a hearty, bleh.
Posted by: Heather B. | October 11, 2006 12:19 PM
NASTY!!! NASTY!!! NASTY!!!
I've lived in Texas for 30 years and never seen live critters in my flour.
UGH. *full body shiver*
SHE WANTED YOU TO *EAT* THEM!?!?!?!
land sakes!
Posted by: AmStaff Mom | October 11, 2006 12:27 PM
Protest? Marching? Pickiting?
I'm in, for the sake of your intestinal health, but at long as it isn't at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning, unless there is Starbucks involved, and cameras, and $10.
Uhh Jes I bet your mom knows about weevils and just protected you from the horror of it all.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 11, 2006 12:30 PM
So obviously I'm not very memorable thankyouverymuch moveabletype
the last anon comment (the only anon comment for that matter) was me
Posted by: Katie | October 11, 2006 12:39 PM
ew. i was going to buy flour tonight. never mind.
maybe this woman is the key to surviving e.coli?? apparently it doesn't affect this woman, because it would seem that she has no problem...eating...them--so maybe some doctors should open her up and find out what the secret to immunity against e.coli is...i'm just saying.
Posted by: maura | October 11, 2006 12:43 PM
This made me want to lay down and die.
That is all.
Posted by: Lawyerish | October 11, 2006 12:47 PM
And that's why I only eat gin.
Posted by: Joe | October 11, 2006 01:05 PM
You should bake that manager some cookies with the weeviled flour. If she doesn't think it's a big deal ...
Okay, that's evil. But she's gross. You should definitely write a letter. You could send your pictures, too, for extra effect.
Posted by: my life is brilliant | October 11, 2006 01:14 PM
Or better yet...put a weevil in a ziploc and send that with your letter. I've done stuff like that before, and it is VERY effective.
Posted by: jacks | October 11, 2006 01:58 PM
Ooooh! The weevil in the ziploc! I'm totally doing that.
Posted by: jes | October 11, 2006 02:35 PM
You have just taken all of the joy out of holiday baking and filled it with horror. I bake like a fiend and I have never, NEVER, had weevils in my flour. I'll admit it's not Texas hot here in Oregon but c'mon, even in the hottest days of summer I have had no bugs in my flour.
They should not only refund your money but they should give you a gazillion dollars in gift certificates just to get you to shop there again.
Ugh.
Posted by: Heather | October 11, 2006 02:49 PM
What a wench. I say bake her some weevil cookies - that's my vote! Hasn't she heard of bad publicity? Man, I wish your blog was the first search return when I type "Tom Thumb" in Google. But, alas. It's not.
Posted by: Heidi | October 11, 2006 05:18 PM
By jove, you're right, Heidi. I need to write about Tom Thumb more, obviously.
You've given me a new goal.
Posted by: jes | October 11, 2006 05:22 PM
I am so for the weevil cookies. Make sure a weevil is perched right on top!
I am also for the all-gin diet, like Joe.
Posted by: Suebob | October 12, 2006 10:01 AM
Did you ever read my "This blog is a boll-weevil-free zone?" Because, yeah...I feel your pain. Luckily I haven't seen my flour moving in years.
Is it just in Texas that we have this problem?
Posted by: Jenny | October 13, 2006 10:35 AM
I keep my flour in the freezer because I just can't handle the hatched weevil in my baked goods.
Posted by: Jayleigh | October 13, 2006 08:23 PM
Hi everyone
I work for Tom Thumb and spend a lot of time on the internet trying to research the cruel things the mangament do to to non-mangament
employees. Such as making us work 6 hours
with no break. That's a long time to stand without even a 15 minute break. If we ask to go to the restroom or get a drink of water, we are mostly told, wait until someone eles comes on duty. How are we to check customers grocery and most of the time bag it too when we are so worn out. In the state of Texas there are no break requirments and Tom Thumb is using this to their advantage. I'm looking else where for employment, but the point is, I hate that the company is able to do this and get away with it. So the next time you are in a Tom Thumb store and the cashier is in a bad mood. You now know why.
Posted by: TomThumbSlave | June 7, 2007 11:42 PM
Hi everyone
I work for Tom Thumb and spend a lot of time on the internet trying to research the cruel things the mangament do to to non-mangament
employees. Such as making us work 6 hours
with no break. That's a long time to stand without even a 15 minute break. If we ask to go to the restroom or get a drink of water, we are mostly told, wait until someone eles comes on duty. How are we to check customers grocery and most of the time bag it too when we are so worn out. In the state of Texas there are no break requirments and Tom Thumb is using this to their advantage. I'm looking else where for employment, but the point is, I hate that the company is able to do this and get away with it. So the next time you are in a Tom Thumb store and the cashier is in a bad mood. You now know why.
Posted by: TomThumbSlave | June 7, 2007 11:42 PM