November 2024 Of Minestrone and Bunkie Boards: A Note on Scarcity and Missed Opportunities

Every once in a while, Campbell’s minestrone soup appeals to me, so I like to keep some on hand. It was likely decades ago when I was first introduced to it. Not something to which I have given much thought.

Until recently.

Turns out in my smaller Tennessee town, neither Kroger nor Walmart now carry minestrone.

Fortunately, when I made this discovery, my husband was up in Wisconsin where it was apparently readily available since he purchased the above quantity and drove them home.

Scarcity of favorite food items isn’t a new concept for me. We’ve lived in a number of cities and more than one country over our long married life. When we lived in Scotland, I expected not to be able to readily find all the American foods to which we were accustomed. As I recall, back all those years ago, my husband missed two of his favorite foods, Cheerios and M&Ms.

I learned then when I saw something that was sometimes hard to find, like Ziplock bags, to grab them, even if that expenditure wasn’t planned in the very tight student grocery budget.

Of course I also learned that scarcity of one food item often has a compensatory tradeoff as, for example, in Scotland I was also able to discover cheeses I had never known, such as my still-favorite-to- this-day double Gloucester with chives, as well as wonderful cheddars and other more exotic types. And then there was cream, many more types than in American stores, including real clotted and Devonshire creams that are actual versions of cream, not a recipe you mix up yourself.

Then as we lived in various places around the country, I learned there were regional items to discover, as well as other regional items I considered normal until they weren’t available, like Italian roast beef sandwiches.

But Campbell’s minestrone? Really?

And then there was my recent experience trying to buy a bunkie board for the bunk beds we are finally putting up for the grandkids – it’s a surprise, so don’t tell.

I was looking for a bargain on new twin mattresses and happened upon a $41 bunkie board at a going out of business sale. At that point I had realized only one bunkie board was in sight at home but still wanted to check a few more places. I decided to go home to check further.

The experienced salesperson said they couldn’t put an item on hold, but nicely expressed that the item had been there a long time and was only going to appeal to a very specific need, being one of a pair. That was her professional way of saying it was probably not a problem to wait until tomorrow, without actually promising me anything.

You know where this is going, right?

After going home that day and determining we did in fact need that bunkie board, the next morning I tried calling the store twice before it was open or before they were answering the phone. After a meeting, I called again and finally reached them. The bunkie board had been sold.

These two experiences coming within a week or so of each other got me thinking about life and opportunities that come our way.

Sometimes the opportunities continue to be available, but other times, things we assume we’ll always be able to access, disappear.

Like minestrone.

What opportunities have you been offered that you haven’t acted on?

Is it a new friend – or an old one – who has reached out and said let’s get together? A trip a loved one has been longing you to take with them?

A business opportunity or promotional opportunity for your business that you aren’t sure about, so you are dragging your feet a bit?

Opportunities don’t always last.

Make sure you don’t miss something you know you should be doing.

Pray, seek counsel, seek creative ways to fund or stretch out in faith.

All of that is easy to say, much harder to be brave and do.

I need the nudge too, of course. So today I’m challenging all of us to just take the first step toward considering that option you are considering, with a reminder about limited time offers really being limited.

And if the opportunity you are pondering relates to your book and there’s something you’ve been thinking about that you want to discuss with Buoyancy PR, let’s talk.