Millie the Cow

Here's an odd tangent into the world of games ... there's a country store a few exits up the highway from where we live, and they have a really odd diversion to get customers to come back.

As you walk in, there's this quaint sign challenging you to find Millie the Cow, which is a little plastic toy that they move around the store from day to day.  So, it's a kind of scavenger hunt.  Very simple, but when we're in the area we just think, "Let's stop and find that little cow again."  So we scour the shelves, finding some groceries we need along the way (so it succeeds are a marketing trick), and it's just fun looking for the thing.  I don't know why, but we almost start whispering, like it can somehow hear us and hide. 

That's nuts.  It's a tiny plastic cow.  But here she is, hiding in the pickle relish ...

FOUND IT!

So we go up to the counter and tell them where we found Millie.  And they have to offer us a lollipop, but neither of us can really have high-sugar snacks.  The real pleasure is when they ask us to move Millie for the next visitor.  We left Millie in with the cinnamon.  We let them know where it is, so they can verify the next discoverer.

It's an odd little ritual.  Maybe the workers look at us like we're crazy.  I just appreciate that some places share a sense of fun when so many big retailers just want your personal data so they can bombard you with barcodes.

I wonder who found that tiny cow in that little cardboard display of cinnamon.  And I wonder where that cow will be the next time we visit ... and I wonder why I wonder about it at all.

From our photo archive: back in 7/31/2022, she was hiding by the hot sauce: