Friday, November 24, 2006

Just Checkin' In

Black Friday. Both SN1 and SN2 were up at the crack of dawn and out seeking bargains this morning, if all went to plan. And I mean that quite literally: SN1 told me he and the family, which includes Mom this year, planned to be “in line” at 0500 this morning...all the better to get "Early Bird" goodies. I’m glad they’re doing their part to support the economy, because I’m certainly not. I have a built-in aversion to crowds, in the first place. And I hate to shop, in the second place. You might think “hate” is a pretty strong word, but let me assure you: it is not. If anything, the word understates my feelings about shopping. I go to the ‘net if there’s shopping to be done, and have done so since about…oh…1998. Thanks, AlGore.

Two or three times a month I’ll link to Mr. Lileks when he has something particularly funny to say, or an item that’s out of the ordinary in some way or another. While the Bleat is an everyday read for me, there’s more—much more—to his site. Lileks is a one-man kitsch conservatory. One man’s kitsch is another’s folk history, and in that spirit I give you the link to his motels site: a collection of vintage post cards found in Mom ‘n’ Pop motels during the 1950s and 1960s. These cards are pretty danged nostalgic for us geezers folks of a certain age, and interesting, perhaps, for the rest of y’all. I naturally scoped out all the New Mexico entries; this is my favorite. Lord only knows how many of these places I’ve actually stayed in over the years. Hundreds. And not a few were on Route 66, before there was an I-40.

My current lust object: Susan Swain. Actually, Susan has had that status for a while now. (Along with my favorite Weather Babe, who apparently left The WX Channel. Or was fired. But I digress.) Susan is articulate, intelligent, and lovely as all get out, with a killer smile. And there’s an interesting twist here, too. If you clicked the link, you’ll see the article was published in “Connections,” a publication of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Ms. Swain graduated from the University of Scranton in 1976. TSMP was also the recipient of a Jesuit education: ND, ‘78. She and Ms. Swain are about the same age and there’s more than a superficial resemblance, too. {Cue Twilight Zone music}

Today’s Pic: The cylindrical fountains in the aptly-named Tranquility Park, Houston. The shimmering effect of water cascading down these 30-foot tall (or so) satin-finish metal cylinders is mesmerizing. I spent the better part of an hour here, just watching the water move. And the people, too. April, 2000. (As always, click for larger.)

Update, 1150 hrs: You need to get over to Laurie's place and view the video she posted this morning. Moving, to say the very least.

5 comments:

  1. You would not find me anywhere near a store today. In fact I did have an errand to run which I have been procrastinating on, lest I get caught in too much madness. I don't like shopping most of the time, but I'm with you, can't stand the crowds. I would rather shop online, maybe cost a little more in shipping, but that is worth it to me.

    Susan is a nice looking woman. And thanks for the link.

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  2. I believe I've seen Susan. She has a look of wholesomeness and intelligence, too.

    I don't think there is anyone who visits your blog who does like shopping. We're with ya, Buck! Hearing that other people think that shopping in crowds is fun is like listening to folks from another planet. I sometimes think I'd rather go out and gather cotton myself and weave the darn clothes.

    Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Have any leftovers in your fridge? How's your microwave?
    Most importantly, how's TFMP? Still think about her.

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  3. I did run in to Wal-mart for a minute, but I didn't really want to. Cody wanted to string some lighted garland across the bar, and I needed some hooks for him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone shopping either.

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  4. It's good to get validation when it comes to "shopping!"

    Bec: I'll post a pictorial answer to your "leftovers" question in a moment or three. And if you watch C-SPAN fairly regularly I'm sure you've seen Ms. Swain. She's the regular host of Washington Journal on Thursdays...

    Regarding The First Mrs. Pennington... She's spending Thanksgiving with SN1 and is MUCH better these days. The doctors took her gall bladder out last month and that operation has seemingly resolved the problem. One would think that gall bladder issues would be a relatively simple diagnosis for any competent doctor. Apparently it was not. Being the cynical SOB that I am, I think it was a case of the doctors "milking" the system to maximize revenue (i.e., MRIs, a hospital stay for multiple other tests, and so on) rather than fixing the problem as quickly as possible. And, of course, there's fear of malpractice suits and all that, which one cannot discount when it comes to testing for every conceivable possibility.

    So...the bottom line is she's MUCH better, and for that I'm glad. Thanks for asking!!

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  5. I did all my Wal-Mart shopping last week - enough to get through until the T-Day weekend was over. Shopping has its time and place, but T-Day weekend is not for me.

    I tried to post a comment the other day on the turkey hoist picture, but got bumped off the computer and got frustrated. But we fried three turkeys on T-Day. That turkey hoist looks like something every red-neck American needs.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.