Back to Basics / Billy Bragg
As Billy Bragg sings, “I am the milkman of human kindness I will leave an extra pint…” we are driving past the mega mall area. It’s not so much that the mall is that big, though it does have four wings with four anchor stores. It’s more that the entire area of the mall has become over run with consumerist sprawl. In edition to the mall and the giant Walmart, Home Depo, and Target, there are five large strip malls, half a dozen free standing restaurants and another couple of dozen larger stores, like Staples and Borders all connected by parking lot and side street.
It reminds me of being a kid and playing by strategically placing chairs so you could circle the room and never to touch the floor. I always liked that game, especially the part where we scaled the back of the Queen Anne chair and slid down its front. When you’re only a foot and half tall, that’s quite the challenge.
“The busy girl buys beauty. The pretty girl buys style. And the simple girl buys what she’s told to buy...” There is a car behind us and the driver is trying to take our picture with her cell phone. People stare at the car, it’s a Cube. It’s boxy. Apparently satisfied, she speeds past us on the right no less. But wait, now she wants a different view. She is trying to take our picture from the right lane as she passes us. But she’s not passing.
We slow, she slows. Clearly we could get her to come to a full stop if we wanted. “Strange things happen…” As the passenger, I’m tempted to flip her off, but fear I will end up on You Tube. Instead, we do what all do when faced with paparazzi – we show her the hand and joke about our fifteen minutes of fame because of our car.
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