We already have drones delivering online purchases in some parts of the country. You have to admit - you probably didn't think you'd live to see the day.
Yet it's interesting that supermarkets are remarkably similar today to the experience a succession of generations have had over the years.
Think about it. The manual cash register (and its almost musical sound) has been replaced by bar code scanners ... but the process of your purchases passing along a conveyor as you move through the thin checkout line is hardly different.
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
Items are still arranged in rows of shelves that we push shopping carts up and down. The carts themselves may be made of plastic instead of metal but the design has barely been altered.
Fruits and vegetables are still open to be chosen individually; meats and fish are neatly arranged in refrigerated displays. It's an experience we had as children that our own children -- and likely their children - have been and will be able to share.
Here's a gallery of vintage photos of supermarkets in New Jersey. And here are links to more vintage photo galleries of supermarkets and food stores in the Garden State.
Greg Hatala may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.