more proof
that fame is fleeting
the
50 shades of grey
love ring
is on the
clearance shelf
second one down
black box
once so hot
now
with luster lost
jammed between
the expired
mucinex
preparation h
metamucil
nicotine gum
bath puffs
baby meds
mouthwash
all there
to improve
the
imperfections
of the
human condition
what
strange company.
forgot my list again
let’s see….
so many choices
glue sticks
jerky
sunflower seeds
batteries
dental floss
chap stick
lint rollers
hair bands
and
i know
i’m forgetting something
so many choices
oh, that’s right
the pregnancy test
last minute
impulse buying
at its finest.
—
look for your choices, pick the best one, then go with it.
– pat riley
“Remember that when you think you are seeing giants, they may not be giants at all; perhaps it is you who is the dwarf.”
and yet another true story, of path-crossing, and timing, and luck, and circumstance. i was on my way to school for a faculty work day, and walked into a huge multi-purpose all-things-you-could-ever-want-and more store, (air compressors, makeup, yarn, chicken tenders, cabbage, towels, scotch, and goldfish – all sold there), and i went to get a cart.
as i pulled my cart out of the corral, i turned and was stopped in my tracks because –
i saw a giant.
literally.
his hands were huge and he stood right in front of me, manning his cart, ready to head off into the aisles, in search of whatever diverse collection of items he may on the hunt for. and everything about him was huge. stunningly massive.
my eyes slowly looked up, and up, and just kept going. and going. he was the tallest man i’ve ever seen close up, other than a basketball player, but he was not built anything like a basketball player, he was built like an oak tree- huge, and solid, and unbending.
i was in awe of his physical presence and as i kept looking up and looked up finally got to his face, he smiled at me with a huge giant’s grin. i smiled back, he seemed so gentle, not scary at all, as i had always imagined a giant would be if i ever encountered one. and we headed off through the aisles, each on our own retail scavenger hunt.
when i got to the grocery section of this massive store that is a like small city, i turned the corner from the cereal aisle, and who should i encounter –
but a second giant!
again, another surprised reaction from me, but i just took it in, and wondered about the odds of finding two men of this ilk, in the same building at the same time. i thought perhaps there was some kind of convention or fest going on in the area, that both may have attended. sort of specialized, like a ‘mothers of twins’ event, but for really, really, really big people.
i finished my shopping, not crossing paths with either of them again, and went on to school. i sat through the professional development meetings, but could not shake the memory of these men. i tried to imagine what a day spent as a giant must be like, how it must be to always have people surprised by encountering them, wondering if people were kind or cruel to them, and wondering what kind of items a giant shops for.
at lunch that day, i sat with one of our phys ed teachers and told him about my stop at the store on the way to school. he got a very surprised look on his face, asked me if i was kidding, and told me he was shocked that i brought this up because he had also run into a giant at another location of the same store across town, that very same morning. it was a surprising encounter for him as well, and he’d taken a picture of his giant because he didn’t think anyone would believe him. he shared the picture on his phone with me, and it was yet another giant that i had not met.
what are the odds of this set of circumstances? that we would each encounter one or more giants on the same morning, in the same brand of store, in different locations, on different sides of town, that he had taken a picture, and that we actually had lunch together, and it would come up in our conversation?
it raised so many questions. why so many giants in one state at one time? why at this chain of stores? did they offer a giants’ discount, like they did for senior citizens each tuesday? or did the giants feel comfortable there because the store itself was so giant? how did the universe conspire to have us all cross paths on the same day and then have the two of us cross paths to share our stories and be amazed by it all?
we will never know the answers to any of these questions, but it was a huge day for all of us.
Definition of giant in English:
NOUN
an imaginary or mythical being of human form but superhuman size.
an abnormally tall or large person, animal, or plant.
a person of exceptional talent or qualities: a giant among sportsmen
Astronomy a star of relatively great size and luminosity compared to ordinary stars of the main sequence, and 10-100 times the diameter of the sun.
“Well, first of all,” said the BFG, “human beans is not really believing in giants, is they? Human beans is not thinking we exist.”
————————————————————————————————-
credits: library of congress, roald dahl, the bfg (the big, friendly, giant), quentin blake, harper collins publishing, oxford dictionary
out with baby b on a shopping adventure. there is love in those eyes.
—
“To live in hearts we leave behind, is not to die.” —Thomas Campbell
If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. – Lucy Larcom
—
she came flying in, like a whirlwind, hurricane esmerelda, her 5 small children in tow. the weather had taken a sudden turn for the worse, putting forth a tremendous downpour and winds and thunder and lightning. we were meeting at a store to buy winter clothing for her family. as part of a local program, warm the children, members of my community meet others who are in more challenging circumstances, and through donations, we are able to get together to purchase what is needed for their children.
when we had tried to speak on the phone, it was clear esmerelda only spoke spanish, and i enlisted the help of our school spanish teacher to set up the meeting. i brought a friend who had visited nicaragua and had a bit of spanish in her pocket, along with her daughter, who was at my very basic level of speaking spanish. i imagined that we all would figure it out and somehow accomplish our mission.
she had somehow gone to the wrong store and was late and worried, and rushed over when we figured out what happened. the children were all quite young, one still small enough to sit in the seat of the cart. only one of the children spoke a bit of english and as we made our way through boots, hats, mittens, snow pants, coats and jammies, my friend somehow was able to call up her ’emergency spanish’ and helped when we had a question. her daughter was able to help some of the children to make choices and find sizes and luckily, i could remember colors and numbers in spanish. (even though i slipped into french at times)
somehow we were able to find all that we needed for each of them, filling two carts, and the children happily picked out clothes in the colors they liked. the only boy in the family, lit up with a smile when shown spiderman mittens, and the girls helped each other try on and make final choices. they were very well behaved through it all, and it was easy to see that each of them had taken on a role of responsibility for themselves and each other at an age way before most children would ever have to.
we kept everyone moving, making sure we didn’t lose anyone along the way, and before we knew it, we were checked out and headed outside. a tornado watch had been issued and it somehow seemed appropriate with all of the energy we had whipped up on this shopping trip. we helped the family back to their van, keeping an eye on the gaggle of young children, and as we left, we hugged and said adios, all with tears in our eyes and smiles on our faces. it was a wonderful morning.
A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. William Arthur Ward
part of my family was visiting from nyc and this time they rented a car and drove here instead of flying. we took the rare opportunity to shop for large items they would never be able to haul home normally, with a ‘quick visit to ikea.’ this concept of the ‘quick visit’ to this crazy grand canyon of a place, was soon revealed to be the ultimate oxymoron, in my young niece’s opinion. she dealt with it all in her own way.
she finds a kindred spirit in an employee who has her own stuffed animal and happily joins in play with her stuffed bunny and ratty friends
she relaxes a bit at the scene of all the play, with her favorite color plastic ikea shopping bag, as her blanket
we move to another part of the store, but it’s all just one great napping place in her eyes
soon, she is absolutely at her limit, and ready to roll on out of this place. disguising herself as a large carton of furniture, she is in full-out camouflage mode.
___________________
‘And then, I do love my shopping, but actually, lounging is the big thing.’
———————————–
None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm. – Henry David Thoreau
————
while waiting in line to buy some late summer flowers, i heard a sweet voice over my shoulder. i turned to look, and the man behind me, who appeared to be at least 157+ years old, was talking to me. his joy was infectious, and left us both happy, after such a short and random encounter.
methus: ‘wow, a pretty girl has bought me a flower!’
me: ‘yes, it is for you.’
methus: ‘only charge her 1.98 please.’
(checkout woman looked confused. looked at the price tag again. meths laughed out loud.)
methus: ‘have you been good?’
me: ‘yes i have.’
methus: ‘i expect not.’
me: ‘are you having a good day?’
methus: ‘hell, i don’t know. i wouldn’t even know the difference.’
(another hearty laugh as i gave him one of my flowers and we each went our separate ways)
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. – Mark Twain
home at last, and walking downtown, i passed one of our most interesting stores.
the name really speaks for itself.
——————
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of vices that has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct them concerning fallen humanity’s tendency to sin. In the currently recognized version, the sins are usually given as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
now – if they just added in a taco bell all-you-can-eat bar, with super-sized slushy drinks, comfy sofas with cup-holders, remotes and unlimited trashy tv, mirrors, free spa services, and marriage arbitration, i think you could partake in all of the deadly sins under one roof. kind of like a 7 deadly sins strip mall or theme park. one-stop shopping. i can only imagine the ads.
——
There is no sin except stupidity.
an early morning stop by the Indian Ocean for fresh fruits and veggies and chat.
Pete flies his international flags to welcome everyone and offers up a bit of conversation.
hmmm…….everything is slightly bigger here in Western Australia
somehow, once again, i found myself trapped and wandering through the rat maze that is ikea, and with my incredible lack of anything even resembling a vague sense of direction, it took on a whole new level.
it’s definitely an extreme sports experience in itself, and after following the trail around and around, and eating a horse meat-laced meatball or two, and collecting lots of odd colorful plastic springsprongthingamajigs and blonde wood-ish items, i was left wondering what they were and what were meant to do.
i chose the items i did simply because they looked cool and really no other reason. and the fact that i felt like i had to get something so that i would be allowed to find my way out again. now that the olympic committee has dumped some of it’s current sports events, i’m considering proposing this whole experience to them for their consideration as an indoor winter sport. maybe a better match for the x-games though?
along the way, i swear i saw people nervously look over their shoulders and skitter through what looked like secret shortcuts and potential passageways out, only to never return. possible slides right to the checkout line or the parking lot?
whew – i need a swedish cocktail, if only i could figure out if that glass thing i put in my giant blue plastic bag was meant to be used as a cup or oil change pan?
skoal!!!!!!
Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 