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Corvallis, OR, United States
My personal obsession with prion diseases with smidges of music I like and rescue dog advocacy from a disabled Oregonian.

11.28.2003

Singing: I get by with a little help from my friends.............................The Beatles

In Season: leftovers, holidaze, consumerism


The evening news sickened me. Throngs of deprived women get up at 4-5 in the morning to hit the department stores for bargains. News clips show folks running to buy things. Ladies with numerous crinkly plastic bags, hustle their butts in shopping nirvana.

Shopping is a chore for me. It is not something I do with gusto. When I need something I go with a list. Time is of the essence here. In and out. Browsing drives me nuts. Lollygagging warrants an evil eye. Get me the hell out of this flourescent lighted, toxic plastic smelling building

In fact everytime I enter a , Bi,-Wal, or K-Mart, I relive the trauma I had in the Corvallis K-Mart with my son, Isaac many years ago. He was 9 or 10 back in 1992, when Bart Simpson haircuts were the style. Isaac emerged out of the salon with the coolest spikes. Mousse was caked in his blonde spikes, along with the scent. Isaac complained that the smell was bothering him as we drove to K-Mart. I reassured him that we would be in and out of the store, as this was a trip for some gym gear for him.

As we entered K-Mart my son barfed right inside the store, on the women's clothing, and purses. This wasn't a discreet, private regurgitation. No, it was next to the restaraunt inside the door, in the middle of the main flow of K-Mart shoppers. And I was one of them, with a sick kid. I remember desperately holding out my purse for my son to barf in but I carry a small purse and it was beyond its capabilities.

Feeling like a dirt bag, I turn my son around and left. Believe me. I was torn between helping an attendant assigned to mop duty that day, or as primary caregiver for a queasy kid. I opted for taking care of the kid before his stomach churned amongst K-Mart's eclectic merchandise.

Happy Shopping!


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