Living Out Loud with Darian

Yesterday I realized I was fresh out of contact solution, and I knew if I didn't want to dispose them before the 2 week expiration I needed to punch it to the grocery store. For the record I avoid grocery stores like the plague. There is no reason for me to shop there because I eat out every day. I know it's horrible for my health, but I just don't have the time to prepare a meal with my busy schedule, and besides I never learned how to cook.

Once I managed to find out where the solution was located I picked up a bottle and proceeded to check out, but I was stopped suddenly by the strangest thing. Condoms. Yes, I said condoms. It wasn't strange for me to see condoms in the grocery store, the part that was odd and upsetting for me was that the condoms were not accessible, they were locked in a glass cage with instructions that read, "please see a cashier for key" .

I think condoms should be just as easy to retrieve as a carton of milk. I left the store wondering how many young men were too embarrased to ask for assistance in purchasing protection. I know I probably would have never worked up the courage as a teenager to ask an adult to open up a cage so I could buy a box of condoms. The cold look of judgement on their face would have been traumatic for me.

Black people are still being infected with HIV/AIDS at an alarming rate, and until there's a cure we have got to protect ourselves. I spoke with a friend of mine who works in the grocery industry and he told me they most likely locked the condoms up because of theft. I don't know if I'm completely buying that theory, but I've definitely got one of my own.

Lock up the condoms so young people can't get to them and they will be discouraged from having sex. That sounds like the typical southern mentality. I think the next time I make a trip to the store I'm gonna have to ask the boss a few questions. I bet he won't even see it coming.