Dear Lady in E-RAB Hoodie at an Illinois Menards Store

I have no idea who this woman is but she deserves to be acknowledged through a platform like this.

"Sure mom, I'll take you to the store. No problem."

On Tuesday I took my elderly mother to run a few errands. (Good thing she has a flip phone and will likely never read this and know that I labeled her as elderly, but she is.)

I knew where she needed to go but didn't know why nor did I ask ahead of time because her stops are usually relatively quick despite the need to stop and thoroughly examine every clearance aisle.

This trip, though, was nothing like the usual and would lead to frustration and a race against the clock.

Before this little shopping experience was about to get real complicated, a former coworker reached out to me to have lunch on this particular day. I hadn't seen her in YEARS so I certainly had to say yes.

Little did I know what sort of adventure I was about to endure at Menards.

It was in this exact spot in front of these exact doors when I learned this trip to Menards was about to turn into a real struggle.

What was on mom's Menards shopping list?

She was in the hunt for something to keep her humidifier clean and to a reclining chair. This wouldn't be just any chair, it was colossal.

As soon as the employees brought out a box that was so big my first grader could comfortably make a fort out of it two things became apparent, I would be late to lunch and there was no way I was leaving the parking lot with the chair.

The white rectangle is where the struggle became real in a hurry. I thought maybe if I opened the box and removed the two pieces of the chair then I could squeeze the pieces into my backseat and the truck.

I've played a lot of Tetris (A LOT) and I bagged many groceries in my pre-radio days. None of those skills mattered, no angles matter, nothing.

The only thing that mattered was this overly-cushioned chair not leaving the parking lot. That's when a woman approached me.

"I've been watching you struggling with that chair, how far away are you taking it?"

I told her I was taking it about 10 minutes away and that's when she offered her SUV to move it to my mom's apartment.

My mom was concerned as if someone would steal half of a reclining chair. I accepted her offer and told her I'd give her gas money, which she rejected.

She needed to stop for gas on the way and I told her she was taking my money even if I had to leave it in her vehicle when I grabbed the bottom portion of the chair.

The Letter

Dear Lady wearing an E-RABS hoodie,

I can't thank you enough for taking time from your Tuesday afternoon to assist in getting my mother's new recliner to her apartment building. Without your generosity, I would either still be trying to squeeze the chair into my car or tied it to the roof ala Beverly Hillbillies, and I would have never made my lunch appointment.

I don't know your name or anything but if you're reading this I would love to verbally thank you again so please reach out in a message through our mobile app.

Sincerely,

 JB, a.k.a the guy who had no idea what was in store during a "quick" Menards trip.