Possum Holler

After years of resistance, I was conned into signing up for a VIC card at Harris Teeter this week. In a moment of weakness the words "yeah, sure" rolled off my tongue when faced with the inevitable 'what's your problem with saving money' look that comes with vehemently refusing the opportunity to become an Important Customer in the eyes of Harris Teeter and Big Brother, Inc.. Possum Holler readers may or may not be familiar with my problems with the VIC program and other equally suspect promotions. Aside from not wanting THEM to know everything that I eat so they can jack up the prices of what I do buy and offer me discounts on the stuff that I don't buy, I am also convinced that the VIC Card comes equiped with some sort of honing device that allows HT to trace your every step along with every bite you take. Why you might ask? Well, why not! Think about it. The ever convenient VIC Card fits cozily on your key chain where it will never be any further than 20 feet away from you at all times.

My suspicions became heightened when confronted with a blank space on the application where they expected me to provide them with my driver's license number. Do they need to check my driving record to make sure it is clear before I am allowed to save $.59 on a Healthy Choice frozen dinner? I've got nothing to hide, so I forked it over.

I guess I've gotten soft in my post-college years. Here I am working for the same Tsar that I once swore to do my best to overthrow not so very long ago and allowing the Big Brother/Harris Teeter conspiracy to watch my every step, and for what? What is the price that bought another chunk of my personal privacy? Well, yesterday it came to about four dollars and sixty cents.

The moral of the story, friends, is that once you start having to provide for yourself you learn pretty quick that money ain't cheap.