I popped in to the crowded grocery store today. There weren’t many carts but one stood all alone near the cart corral… just for me! I zoomed through the store because I don’t like to spend a lot of time there… I had a list and knew exactly what I needed to buy.

Whole turkey breast … check
Brown rice pasta … check
Organic milk … check
100% whole wheat bread … check
Bottled water … uggggg

I lugged a 24-bottle case to the cart and popped it in and took off.

All of a sudden…

SQUUUEEEAAAKKKKK!

The most awful screech rang through the store. I tried repositioning the water to no avail. I just needed a few more items and it was a long way to the unused carts, so I decided to live with the sound. No wonder no one had wanted that cart!

“Oh, my god, I couldn’t keep on shopping with that noise,” one woman said.

“That’s the worst cart I ever heard,” said another.

“Is that YOU?” a man ventured.

It made me laugh. “Too much in my cart,” I told myself, though it was all pretty healthy food and I’ve certainly shopped with a cart weighing 4 times as much.

Wouldn’t it be funny if an alarm went off when you put the wrong food in your cart, or your body? Maybe when a food item was definitely going to result in excess weight?

Why can’t such a clear signal emit when we venture too close to the high fructose corn syrup? Or the processed, chemicalized frozen desserts?

Few dangers are that clear in life. A railroad crossing will warn you of danger with bells, whistles, lights and sirens.

Haagen Dazs has none of those four signals.

What could you use a signal, siren or warning for? Certain thoughts or emotions? Angry food?

Where are your danger zones and where do you cross the line into “overloaded” – what kind of signal would get your attention?