Just Thinking

Dear Subway,

I saw your commercial. Why would I buy a sandwich before 9:00 am?

Sincerely,

A confused breakfast eater

Dear Kashi,

Congratulations! You've made tasty kibble for humans. Now kids won't have to use Cheerios to play Scooby-Doo. Love it!

Sincerely,

Forever a Velma

(Seriously. This stuff is yummers.)


Dear City of Dublin, CA,

Are you sure I haven't spent enough money at the East Dublin Target to justify turning on the street lights at the approach to the parking lot?

Sincerely,

A budding shopaholic

(For real though. It is almost impossible to walk into that location without buying something useful but not immediately necessary. Like a mallet.)


I love you Non-Sequitur comic, but when you make me look up a word that's not in my Merriam Webster or Oxford English dictionaries, I get a little suspicious. Because words should be in all unabridged and/or internet and/or Kindle dictionaries.

Hmmm

Are you sure the movie wasn't an expensive ploy to bring Rock 'em Sock 'ems into the 21st century?


Will Century 21 need to change their name now that we're in the 21st century?

Yes, SuperNerds, there is probably a logical explanation for indicating a product is both butter-flavored and made with real butter; that the latter exists does not signify the former is true. Still, I thought the label was weird.


Oh, Cartoon Network. How I went so long without the macaroni cheesy goodness of Batman: The Brave and the Bold is beyond me. Keep on keeping on!

There's a Signal Light at Muirwood and West Las

When I came to the familiar stop, what I first noticed was the street sign. Properly large and easy to read, hanging from a large long pole hovering over the middle of the intersection.
Then there was a murmur of memory.

***
The playground at my elementary school was one of my favorites. There was a tire swing, horizontally mounted, large enough to fit 3 kids comfortably. There were giant cement tubes, half buried in sand, for running through or climbing on. There this tire so large you could rest in the inside gap. You know, the part that fits over a wheel's rim? Climbing it was irresistible to all but those who were afraid of heights.

I hadn't been in a while. The tube becoming home to broken glass and graffiti. Besides, I was getting too old for playgrounds.

But it was summer and daylight, so a walk with the siblings to a decaying childhood treasure would surely be a fitting way to close a chapter of my youth.

Past the swimming pool, up the dirt path and

Nothing.

Well, the field and the backstop for kickball were still there, and the asphalt with the hopscotch and foursquare outlines, and the empty poles for tether ball, and the – are they also called backstops? – brown monoliths perfect for practicing your forehand, but no playground. Just an empty space.

A piece of my childhood razed without warning.

***

The lights aren't yet functional, the signals covered in cardboard and burlap. I'm used to them now, and may even be prepared for when the stop sign goes missing and the light is green. But for an instant, it was like the old schoolyard playground. A part of my past, a piece of me, irrevocably lost.

A deep breath, a sigh, and a small smile. I'd learned to grieve such losses more compactly.

Thoughts on Herman Cain

I'm not terribly interested in politics, and it's really too early for me to start paying close attention to the presidential election. But over the past month or so, I found myself thinking about Herman Cain.

When he first came to national media's attention

Huh.

I wish he would win the nomination. Then Tea Partiers would have evidence to support their assertions of not being racist. And the heads of racist fringe elements would explode.

When the first allegations of sexual harassment came up

Wow. They really think he's a threat.

Really? Of all the dirt you could find on a dark skinned black man running for president, you found claims of sexual harassment? Can you drill any deeper into the historical American stereotype of black men?

Well, he was a man in power. And men in power have a reputation for sexual harassment. So…

Okay. There's the press conference addressing the allegations. Thanks, CNN. [Three hours later] Really, CNN? You're still talking about this? Are you sure there's nothing else going on in the world.

When the allegation of an affair was aired

Wow. They really think he's a threat.

Hasn't he been talking to his wife? Didn't they talk things over, like General Powell had with his wife?

Oh, I see. She stayed home while he's on the campaign trail.

Dude, seriously. Isn't there something else happening in the world right now?

Yes, I know. Deep Thoughts.