Xanthan Gum

The grocery list
poppy seeds
xanthan gum
3-pack of yeast
Blue Bunny vanilla bean froyo
deodorant

Hmmm, xanthan gum.  That's a new one.  Sure, I'd heard of it, vaguely recalled seeing it included in the ingredients of several common food items.  Never bought any, though.  Trish is gonna bake gluten-free bread for an upcoming potluck and XG is one of the ingredients.  Ever the smart ass, I asked Trish if I'd find it beside the Juicy Fruit.  Got a chuckle out of her.

Went to Smith's, figured XG would be in the spices/bakery aisle.  Found the poppy seeds and yeast, no problem, but no XG.  A pleasant looking woman (hereinafter known as HL, Helpful Lady) was perusing the spices, asked her if she knew where it might be, "No.  Never heard of it.  What is it?"  I told HL what little I knew about it.  She must have been intrigued because she promptly abandoned the spices, and accompanied me down the aisle to the baking section (I'd already looked there twice).  We struck out.

I thanked HL for her time, left the area, went and found a young woman (YW) who worked in the bakery department.  She'd never heard of it, either.  YW and I returned to the bakery section, and there was HL, still doggedly searching the shelves.  HL grabbed another employee, a young guy (YG), who was just wandering by.  YG said, "It's in the nutrition section."  Off we paraded, YG in the lead, me closely behind, HL and YW bringing up the rear.  Sure enough, there it was.  "You da man!" said I to YG.  I thanked HL and YW for their efforts, and continued my shopping.

Later: where the hell did they hide the men's deodorant?  It wasn't in the pharmacy or cosmetics areas.  In desperation, I turned down the aisle marked HER'S.  And, there was HL, all smiles, either delighted to see me again or still pumped from our successful quest for the elusive XG.  She asked another woman (AW), who was standing nearby, if she'd ever heard of XG.  AW had heard of it but didn't know much about it, either.  I explained for the 4th time (or 5th or 6th, lost track) what it was used for and why I needed it.

I continued down the HER'S aisle and, wouldn't you know it, found men's deodorant at the very end.  Grabbed what I wanted, reversed course, walked by AW (HL had disappeared).  AW said, "Good luck with your baking!".  I replied, "I'm not baking.  She is."  And I'm soooo outta here!

To be continued.