The Secret Sisterhood of Dr. Pepper and Cheese Puffs

So, I met a kindred soul the other day.

There I was, in search of a snack in the aisle at Walmart, and as I lunged towards the Cheeto puffs, another lady darted for something at the same time. We did the awkward, "no- you go first; no, you;" thing for a moment before I just grabbed my chips (do Cheeto Puffs count as chips? Essentially, they're just puffed styrafoam coated in fake cheese powder that gets stuck in your teeth like CRAZY). As I was going for the exit, trying to dodge all the carts spilling wailing children, another lady looks at the bag in my basket and says, "Ah, Cheeto Puffs are the best."

Caught off guard, and quite impressed by this woman's excellent taste in... well, food, I enthusiastically replied, "I know, right? I was craving them."

She nodded. "They're the best. Those, and Dr. Pepper."

Now, this was just too weird. Dr. Pepper is probably my most favorite thing in the world (I'm a terrible Mormon, I know. But I do try to reserve it for when I'm having a really bad headache-- caffiene helps migraines-- so it makes it an even better special treat because I can't have it on a regular basis, thus I love it more). Dr. Pepper rivals churros and cheesecake and chocolate any day in my book. So of course, I got all excited and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, that's my favorite!" and was all excited the rest of my shopping excursion.

Now that I think about it, there's probably a million people on earth that love both Cheese Puffs and Dr. Pepper. But just the fact that it came up like that completely stunned me. I mean, first off, how often do random strangers start having normal conversations with you at the grocery store? In California, that is. (In Utah it's totally normal, fyi, so don't be surprised. I got mauled at a Michael's just last month because some lady had to profess her great love for the shoes I had just bought. They are pretty excellent shoes..)


Okay, well, that's not exactly fair-- now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever escaped the store without someone striking up a seemingly random conversation with me. I don't know if it's because people find me approachable, or the fact that I shop for groceries at Walmart. Some pretty strange characters shop at Walmart. That's probably it.

But for a stranger to just so happen to mention two of your favorite things ever as her favorite things, well, it's pretty mind-boggling when you weren't expecting to have any conversations at all.

And that's how I found a kindred spirit of mine in the middle of the chips aisle of Walmart on a perfectly random day in May. We must have been friends in the pre-existance, because, ultimately, anyone who likes Cheese Puffs and Dr. Pepper is really, really awesome.