Tuesday, November 22, 2005

A little anecdote from Daddy

Daddy and Mama went shopping a few weeks ago. Mama was looking for shoes so Daddy was looking to kill some time. He headed into a Christian bookstore in the same plaza. The clerk came up and said, " Can I help you find anything?" as clerks are wont to do. With typical Daddy style humor, he replied, " I'm looking for a port in a storm...my wife is shoe shopping..." The clerk hesitated a minute, headed back to the counter, then turned back to Daddy and said something like, " Do you have the name of the author for that?" Daddy tried again, saying the same thing but with the same result so he went ahead and asked for a real book. Apparently, this guy had never heard of that expression...' a port in a storm' or maybe he was just so "in the zone" of being Super-Clerk that he didn't realize that Daddy was saying he was just browsing to occupy himself while his wife shopped. I wonder if the guy thought to himself, " Why does his wife's shoe shopping have anything to do with the title of the book?" or if he didn't hear that part...I don't know, but I thought it was a pretty funny story.

I was in the same store this morning, browsing around, but I couldn't really focus on the books or read excerpts very long because they had several different kinds of music going on. One was Christmas music, being played loudly at the front of the store, then there was a video going with its own music, and then there was a Veggie Tales video playing around the corner...I seriously was driven out of the store because it was making me crazy. SENSORY OVERLOAD! I can stand having ONE type of obnoxious, evil music played in a store more than I can stand having two or more kinds of ANY music playing simultaneously. I just can't tune that out. Having more than one source of audio input within ear shot of each other in the same store should be OUTLAWED. Is it just me or does this kind of thing bother other people? Maybe it's just my weirdly sensitive ears...

You know you bought too much Halloween candy when it's two days before Thanksgiving and you're still eating Tootsie Rolls. By the handful.

10 comments:

Shay Dawg said...

port in the storm...it's a new one to me. I probably would of done the same thing if I heard that.

Booker said...

tootsie rolls. I have to say, I never understood the atraction of them. and considering how many are always left over, I don't seem to be the only one. They are like the little orphen annie of candies. No body wants them until they are the last one left...

Loreo said...

I totally agree with you, Ryu, about tootsie rolls. And I'm also sensitive to loud music in stores, Claire. Sometimes I speak up, other times I grit my teeth.

Kristi said...

Ha ha, great story! I can't just imagine your dad's little smile as he said it.

Mrs. RF said...

And I thought I was the only one still eating Tootsie Rolls! There will be plenty left for you to enjoy on Thanksgiving!!!!

the Joneses said...

I have to agree with Ryu on the Tootsie Roll thing. Sara loves them; I only eat them if the only other choice is hard cinnamon candies.

--DJ

Claire said...

It's true- tootsie rolls are not super attractive, and therein lies their charm. They're unglamorous, quiet, almost wholesome...not like chocolate candies which I just want to eat ALL AT ONCE...TR's at least partially satisfy your craving for something sweet without plunging you into a downward spiral of voracious consumption which ends with a distinct feeling of illness and regret. Although, to accomplish any sort of dent in your sweet-hunger, you have to eat about seven of them at once b/c they're so small. But their virtue is proven by the fact that they have survived nearly a month in my house without a massive attack. Mini-snickers would NEVER have lasted that long. Maybe a day or two, but not a month.

KW said...

I like tootsie rolls but alas we can not get them here. That and chocolate covered pretzels, and Swiss Miss cocoa and the list continues...

Claire said...

Sojourning,

If you email me your address... I just might send you some!

Booker said...

Sojourning-did you like TR's BEFORE you lived in those hot places? I hear that heat stroke can do weird things to a persons brain :)