I Had to Open My Big Mouth...//Update
Your scribe had hoped to be soaking up some Florida sunshine this weekend, but alas! it was not to be. Instead he is sitting in the library watching the clouds build up as the temperature drops in preparation for a foot or more of snow, starting later today.
So instead of building sand castles with his bucket and shovel, he will be shoveling buckets of the white stuff tomorrow morning. No one ever said life would be fair, but then again, no one ever said it would be this unfair!
Yes, dear reader, the January thaw is behind us, and tomorrow will in all likelihood be a snow day. Which is something we all used to look forward to as kids, but is not nearly as much fun as we get older. Why, even the high-schoolers are busy at work in the libary this afternoon, preparing their projects and studying for the coming week. Yes, we all know that youngsters are growing up faster these days, but really! Unless, perhaps, they enjoy their schoolwork so much that they'd rather do that than hang out or go to the movies...and y'know, given the quality of the faculty in both the public and private schools around here, maybe that is the explanation.
Today's papers mention that the USA now has more 18-year-olds than at any previous time in history. Something about the baby-boomers' babies boom starting to crest, methinks they're saying. Which is all fine and well until you start to realize that colleges have not expanded their enrollments proportionately, and thus a pair of decent board scores and a couple of outside activities - once more than enough to get you into the college of your choice - no longer even begin to cut the admissions mustard.
Nonetheless, the Sunday-afternoon scholars all seem quite happy, smiling and chatting in their college tees and sweatshirts which read like a wish list of where they hope to wind up. They work away on their iBooks and laptops (the library has high-speed wireless connectivity, of course), and all in all seem to be doing what they want to be doing. How great is that?
So now it's time for your scribe to go out and join the throngs at the grocery store, which always seem to explode whenever a snowstorm impends. And speaking of grocery stores, let us all observe a moment of silence for the passing of the Cos Cob Food Mart, a neighborhood institution that has survived fire and flood, but not 21st-century economics, in which a property owner can make more money by renting to a national chain store than running a family business. What was it your scribe said above about life and fairness...?
And so, gentle reader, adieu for the nonce. Into each life a little snow must fall - or perhaps more than a little, but who's counting? Well, the weatherpeople are, of course, and the highway maintenance people, and then there are the rest of us who sit around and blog about the weather when they should have just kept their big traps shut.
**************************************************
Monday morning quarterbacking update:
Well, the "snow emergency" declared by First Selectman Peter Tesei at 9 PM last night was a non-starter. Most local and area schools had a delayed opening, but even that was unnecessary. The roads are clear, and there is a dusting of snow on the ground, but nothing like the 6-12+ inches all the weatherpeople told us to expect.
Your scribe, for one, is not complaining. The less slithery driving he has to do, the better, particularly in a town where people drive their SUVs and Hummers as though they own the road, only to find out that Mother Nature doesn't always see it their way. The sense of invincibility that these automotive monsters seem to impart to their owners can be deceptive, and to the best of your scribe's knowledge, the laws of physics have not been repealed. Thus you are more likely to find an SUV wrapped around a tree or stone wall after a snowstorm in this burg, usually with a surprised soccer mom inside rearranging her children's play dates on her cell phone, than a more modest sedan whose driver treats hazardous conditions with the respect they deserve.
In any event, the weather has turned out to be a typical January day: cloudy, but not too cold, and otherwise unremarkable. So all the crowds your scribe had to battle at the supermarket yesterday (that prediction, at least, was right on the money) will have overstocked larders, while your scribe, who bought only milk and bread, will head off to the fire sale at the soon-to-be-history Cos Cob Food Mart, where everything is 25% off starting today.
As pointed out by the AuthorBabe in her comment on this post, the last thing this Town needs is yet another CVS. Your scribe is contemplating suggesting a boycott of the store when it opens, in hopes that it may soon disappear. Well, why not? The best way to keep more chain stores from coming to Town is simply not to patronize them. They'll get the message, sooner or later.
So instead of building sand castles with his bucket and shovel, he will be shoveling buckets of the white stuff tomorrow morning. No one ever said life would be fair, but then again, no one ever said it would be this unfair!
Yes, dear reader, the January thaw is behind us, and tomorrow will in all likelihood be a snow day. Which is something we all used to look forward to as kids, but is not nearly as much fun as we get older. Why, even the high-schoolers are busy at work in the libary this afternoon, preparing their projects and studying for the coming week. Yes, we all know that youngsters are growing up faster these days, but really! Unless, perhaps, they enjoy their schoolwork so much that they'd rather do that than hang out or go to the movies...and y'know, given the quality of the faculty in both the public and private schools around here, maybe that is the explanation.
Today's papers mention that the USA now has more 18-year-olds than at any previous time in history. Something about the baby-boomers' babies boom starting to crest, methinks they're saying. Which is all fine and well until you start to realize that colleges have not expanded their enrollments proportionately, and thus a pair of decent board scores and a couple of outside activities - once more than enough to get you into the college of your choice - no longer even begin to cut the admissions mustard.
Nonetheless, the Sunday-afternoon scholars all seem quite happy, smiling and chatting in their college tees and sweatshirts which read like a wish list of where they hope to wind up. They work away on their iBooks and laptops (the library has high-speed wireless connectivity, of course), and all in all seem to be doing what they want to be doing. How great is that?
So now it's time for your scribe to go out and join the throngs at the grocery store, which always seem to explode whenever a snowstorm impends. And speaking of grocery stores, let us all observe a moment of silence for the passing of the Cos Cob Food Mart, a neighborhood institution that has survived fire and flood, but not 21st-century economics, in which a property owner can make more money by renting to a national chain store than running a family business. What was it your scribe said above about life and fairness...?
And so, gentle reader, adieu for the nonce. Into each life a little snow must fall - or perhaps more than a little, but who's counting? Well, the weatherpeople are, of course, and the highway maintenance people, and then there are the rest of us who sit around and blog about the weather when they should have just kept their big traps shut.
**************************************************
Monday morning quarterbacking update:
Well, the "snow emergency" declared by First Selectman Peter Tesei at 9 PM last night was a non-starter. Most local and area schools had a delayed opening, but even that was unnecessary. The roads are clear, and there is a dusting of snow on the ground, but nothing like the 6-12+ inches all the weatherpeople told us to expect.
Your scribe, for one, is not complaining. The less slithery driving he has to do, the better, particularly in a town where people drive their SUVs and Hummers as though they own the road, only to find out that Mother Nature doesn't always see it their way. The sense of invincibility that these automotive monsters seem to impart to their owners can be deceptive, and to the best of your scribe's knowledge, the laws of physics have not been repealed. Thus you are more likely to find an SUV wrapped around a tree or stone wall after a snowstorm in this burg, usually with a surprised soccer mom inside rearranging her children's play dates on her cell phone, than a more modest sedan whose driver treats hazardous conditions with the respect they deserve.
In any event, the weather has turned out to be a typical January day: cloudy, but not too cold, and otherwise unremarkable. So all the crowds your scribe had to battle at the supermarket yesterday (that prediction, at least, was right on the money) will have overstocked larders, while your scribe, who bought only milk and bread, will head off to the fire sale at the soon-to-be-history Cos Cob Food Mart, where everything is 25% off starting today.
As pointed out by the AuthorBabe in her comment on this post, the last thing this Town needs is yet another CVS. Your scribe is contemplating suggesting a boycott of the store when it opens, in hopes that it may soon disappear. Well, why not? The best way to keep more chain stores from coming to Town is simply not to patronize them. They'll get the message, sooner or later.
posted by Bill Clark | 1/13/2008 01:51:00 PM
5 Comments:
*sheds a tear for the Food Mart*
We've been bemoaning the fact that they're shutting down Food Mart for a CVS of all things, when there's already one a few miles to the east and another a few miles to the west.
how many CVS's does one town need, for heaven's sake?!
You can always sled over here to make a snowman (oops, person) tomorrow...Not quite fun in the sun, I know, but hey, we Northerners have to make the best of things, no?
Hi, AuthorBabe!
You're absolutely right that about the last thing we need in Town - other than yet another out-of-state bank - is another CVS. My suggestion is that the community boycott it - maybe we can make them go away.
Thanks for the snowperson invitation, but as you can see, the "snow emergency" declared at 9 PM last night was a non-starter. In fact, I think I'd better update this blog entry to correct any misimpressions we all may have had about 12 hours ago.
the kids were really upset. I woke up, checked CT weather and saw the 90 minute delay, looked out the window and thought "Huh?!!!" I couldn't even figure out why there was a delay - the snow didn't even cover the grass.
Bizarre.
We'd bought baking ingredients to make
Schadenfreude Pie, and I was so looking forward to tasting it ;-(
OMG, Sarah, I clicked on the link for Schadenfreude pie - how fabulous!
You *will* be making it soon, yes? And you *will* invite me over for a taste, surely?
*Bill salivates in anticipation*
You want to play in the sand and I would love to play in the snow. It's always that way, isn't it.
As far as CVS's go, down here in Sunny Florida we have tons of them. The thing is, where you see a CVS, there is usally a Walgreens across the street or less than a block away. Same exact type of store.
I remember the small shops from when I was young. Not so much anymore.
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