Groceries Now Arrive In 30 Minutes. Nobody Pushed Them.

I read that Amazon's fresh grocery business is growing about three times faster than the rest of its store, and that same-day fresh orders have more than tripled. I want to congratulate everyone involved. I also want to note that none of those groceries were pushed.

I have pushed groceries for 11 years. I know what a carton of eggs needs. It needs the child seat, folded down, and a person who remembers it is there. A van does not know this. A van has a shelf.

I am not against delivery. If I had a phone, I would order a caster. In fact, I have. It is a $4 part. I have been on the list since February.

I would ask the nation to remember that the slow way had wheels too, and one of them is being prepared.

How Groceries Travel NowMy own estimate, by share of the bags I used to carry

In a van 61%
In a cart, me 24%
In a hand basket 11%
In someone's arms, unwisely 4%

How Groceries Travel Now
In a van	61%
In a cart, me	24%
In a hand basket	11%
In someone's arms, unwisely	4%

Source: Wendell Wheelwright's corral notes; caster order DSKU-CSTR-000004, status Preparing for Shipment since 4:00 a.m.

This morning, for the first time, the status changed. It now says Preparing for Shipment. I do not know what preparation a caster requires. I have decided not to ask, in case asking sends it back.

Meanwhile the store is quieter. On Monday I sat in the corral from open to close and was taken out twice, once by a teenager who wanted to ride me to his car and once by a woman buying a single avocado she said she did not trust to a van.

I respected her. I wobbled her to the register and back, slightly to the left, and when she put the avocado in my basket she said, "There. Now it has a ride."

Groceries can arrive in 30 minutes now. I can arrive in about four, from the corral to the door, if the floor is dry. I would ask the nation to remember that the slow way had wheels too, and one of them is being prepared.

Mr. Wheelwright is a 34-gallon steel shopping cart at a supermarket in Tulsa, Okla. He has opinions about wheels. More from Wendell Wheelwright ›