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Question for the week
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Martin's Posted: 08/16/10 We just returned from Martin’s, our favorite supermarket around here. It’s almost a daily ritual to pick up a few things that fit in our cloth grocery sack. In fact, the sack has the Martin’s logo on it and gets us a nickel off each time we use it. There are five other supermarkets between Martin’s and our home, but we usually bypass every one of them; and I got to wondering why. Two are certainly larger; one has a better selection of produce; and still another has great chicken dinner specials. But each of these has certain drawbacks as well. The only drawback to Martin’s is that it is the farthest away. Once there, however, we are always pleased with the friendly and helpful personnel. The grocery carts work without wobbly, off-kilter wheels. And the cashier empties your cart for you as she scans the price, saving at least one handling of each item. There is a great floral department and an equally great wine selection too. About the only thing Martin’s doesn’t offer is film development; but then who uses old-fashioned film any more? I don’t know what the other supermarkets could do to attract our business. We are not particularly cost-conscious shoppers, so coupons don’t draw us in. We don’t like a store to be so big that we need cell phones to track each other down. And we’d have to go through the learning curve of finding what aisle has the detergent and which one has the cooking oil. Maybe that’s the real reason we like Martin’s so much. We’ve already got a mental map to work from.
Ponderings Posted: 08/10/10 When I began this blog over six years ago, I decided I would not air family laundry or talk about someone who had disappointed me or even make critical comments (except in the form of political observation). I’d read too many blogs that sounded as if the writer hadn’t considered the possible fallout. Some were vindictive, others inane. Others just boring. I still feel this way. I really don’t want to complain about a personal matter in a public venue. And, believe me, the Internet is totally a public venue. Think Facebook and Twitter and the other social applications that track one’s daily life. At the same time, I seem to be in a period of flux in my own world. I’m struggling with a variety of issues that I want to write about. Like changing relationships, adjusting to surgery’s aftermath, becoming older in an increasingly younger society. I have lengthy opinions about each of these in my head, and I want to commit them to future scrutiny. But what’s the best way? Do I reveal these concerns to the general public, that may or may not really care, or do I continue to write casual essays on my blog and find the time to write the serious stuff behind the scene on my computer? Or do I quit the blog in search of time for serious writing? I don’t have the answer yet, because I’m not sure how much I want to make public. I still respect family privacy; yet I’m not sure I have the time to blog and write privately. There are already two novels and a variety of essays that are waiting for editing because I haven’t gotten back to them for final review.
The Nickerson Light Posted: 08/09/10 Most of the stores I frequent are on the west side of town, while we now live on the east side. So, in the past few months, I have tried a variety of routes to get from the one side to the other. Which is fastest? Which has fewer stoplights? Which is most direct? My scientific studies have determined that the shortest route with the fewest stop lights runs via Niles Avenue north to Napier, east to Colfax, south to Nickerson, east again to Pipestone, and south to home. It’s not an unpleasant route either. But there is one problem. The stoplight at Nickerson. No matter what I do, I’ve never made that light. Not even once. And it’s a long red light too. It used to annoy me. I’d see it change to green way down the road and try to pace myself to edge through before it turned. I’ve raced for it; I’ve dallied. But nothing works. So, I’ve decided to take a different tack. I’m going to see how many times I take this route and am stopped by the light. I figure that eventually the Goddess of Red-Yellow-Green will take pity on me.
What Month Is It? Posted: 08/08/10 I went into a local restaurant/gift shop earlier this morning to purchase a food item to go. But first I had to pass a phalanx of what looked like Cinderella costumes, witch costumes, and clerks dressed in ghoulish attire. I edged by shelves of smiling, toothless pumpkins too. Shell shocked, I placed my order with the restaurant hostess. Surely I was seeing things. When it was time to pay, I questioned the cashier to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Am I correct? You’re displaying Halloween items already?” She nodded, took my money, and quietly added: “Yes. And if you look to your left you’ll see Christmas products on display.” I slowly moved my eyes left, afraid that if I tilted my whole head, some witch would whisk a spell on me and I’d be compelled to buy something Christmasy. Sure enough, there were snowmen and Santas smiling at me. Almost waving. I thanked the cashier and quickly left. My calendar says it’s the eighth of August. Labor Day has yet to roll around. So has Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day, although I’m sure there are people out there who don’t even know these latter two events. I predict that somewhere in the near future, we won’t recognize Labor Day either. We may not even recognize Thanksgiving. Why? Because retailers are showing their holiday wares earlier and earlier. I understand the economy is rough and that the end-of-the-year holidays are often when retailers exchange red ink for black. I know because I handle the finances of such a retailer. There’s no question it’s tough out there. At the same time, I’m torn. When I was young no respectable merchant put up Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. The retail world took it holiday at a time. And Halloween wasn’t even considered a really big cash-register day. But times have changed. It’s anything goes, and the merchant who gets the merchandise on the floor the earliest may have an advantage. My only question is: Will Fourth of July be next to go? If so, we could be decorating artificial trees in preparation for December 25 instead of enjoying fireworks to honor our Independence Day. If that happens, I plan to boycott Christmas and New Year’s indefinitely.
Previous entries Due to the volume of entries, Anne's Ten Minutes A Day are now categorized by date and by topics. Some essays are found under more than one topic. Otherwise, select from the categories below.
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