Sunday, January 22, 2023

Birthday, Books, Bikes, and Boobs

 

Friday was a Pickleball morning and nothing exceptional except it was the birthday of Bob, one of our regulars. He’s a Boston-area transplant and lives here full-time, but still hasn’t lost his Bahstan accent and he’s also quite good on the court. What was notable is that it was his birthday – 79!

      

   My Guy and I spent Saturday running errands. While I was standing in line at Target, a display of children’s books by the register caught my eye. Sorry, but I find it weird that Golden Books, that publisher of The Little Red Hen and The Pokey Puppy, decided it would be a great idea to offer small children books about Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball. Would today’s kids even have heard of them?

 

          As we were waiting to leave the shopping complex we heard ongoing sirens and decided there must have been an accident of some kind. As we rode home, the lane we were in seemed to be moving much slower than our neighbor so we switched over. As we rode by, we realized it was a convoy of police vehicles and volunteers’ trucks escorting a train of bicyclists on some fund-raising ride. I was especially impressed when we reached a big intersection and an advance team of cops wheeled into the middle of it, lights flashing. They funneled us through, then blocked all directions so the riders could pass through. Very efficient.

          Before we left the shopping area, we had an eye-opening moment. While waiting for the light, we could see an older woman on a bench next to the road, a shopping card filled with garbage bags next to her. We took no more notice until we glanced over to see her remove her shirt, revealing that underwear was not something she bothered with, and put on a tee shirt, all about 4 feet from the line of traffic. Probably just as well that I don't have a photo to offer.

9 comments:

  1. Definitely not missing that photo.
    And a happy birthday to your very active friend.
    Golden Books have moved into mini biographies? Shudder.

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    1. Yes, I'd like the keep the magic of childhood going a little longer and save the earnest biographies for later.

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  2. finally, a job that police can actually do....

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  3. There is a decent array of books visible, and never too young to read about RBG.

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  4. I don't think I'd buy any of those Little Golden Books, I barely bought any for my own kids long ago anyway. They had some hand-me-down from cousins, but they preferred Dr Suess and Richard Scarry books.

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    1. Richard Scarry! Still among the best books for kids. Dr. Seuss came from Springfield, Mass - the city next to us, where there really IS a Mulberry Street.

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  5. Interesting to think of that woman whose bench is probably her living room, not caring if anybody saw her. Happy birthday to your friend, BTW. :-)

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    1. Well put, DJan. She'd likely passed the point of worrying about what people think a long time ago. Hard life.

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  6. I doubt kids would know who those people are, but I suppose if Grandma bought them the book, they'd learn. Which is no doubt the point of the display. I remember checking out a biography of Bernard Baruch from my elementary school library and I had no clue who he was. You know how kids are -- curious!

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Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.