Finding Blanche

Everything looks different depending on your perspective.

Yesterday, I got a Twitter follow that surprised me. Jerry__Garcia. I am not kidding. See, down there? That’s his photo.

Now, I know (as well as anyone can know anything) he died on August 9, 1995. So I did find it surprising that he was on Twitter. My first thought was how awesome that I can tweet long after I’m gone, but since that is not particularly rational thought, I decided to go check out his profile.

* Name Jerry__Garcia
* Location lovely view of heaven
* Web http://www.dead.net
* Bio each day will be song quotes from a show on that day in dead history…lots of updates

• Jerry__Garcia: As we rode out to Fennario, as we rode on to Fennario, Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove….
  7 minutes ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  Jerry__Garcia: Yes and the doctor called me crazy, some says I am, some says I ain’t…
  35 minutes ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  Jerry__Garcia: If I get home before daylight, I just might get some sleep tonight.
  about 2 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  Jerry__Garcia: Tears I cried for that woman are gonna flood you big river, and I’m a gonna sit right here until I die.
  about 3 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  mikkael: @Jerry__Garcia Me And My Uncle
  about 4 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  Jerry__Garcia: Taught me good Lord, taught me all I know, taught me so well I grabbed that gold, and I left his dead ass there by the side of the road…
  about 4 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
• 
  Jerry__Garcia: Since you poured the wine for me, and tightened up my shoes, I hate to leave you sitting there, composin’ lonesome blues…

Is this a total waste of time? To get song lyrics in my Twitter-stream? Probably so. But it makes me happy.

Now, there’s nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.

What to call this post? It’s a toss up, really. I’m struggling between “I’m sorry, Mom.” OR “Sure, whatever, let’s just get out of here.”

I’ll start from where the thought started.

When I was a teenager, my saintly mother took me shopping. When I tell you I had to try on 25 pairs of jeans to find 1 pair or 50 shirts to maybe find 1, I would not be kidding. Hard as it might be for you to believe, I was not easy that way. I was particular.

And I hated looking like everyone else but I didn’t want to look so different. Not an easy task. But that wasn’t the worst part of shopping with me, I have reccently figured out.

The worst part was the obnoxious loud music at the stores I frequented. I remember my mother silently suffering. Well, it couldn’t have been that silent or I wouldn’t have known, right?

But anyway.

Tonight, I took my teenage son (OMG, I have a teenage son) and my tween son shopping for clothes. Last week, they grew. Seriously, neither had a pair of pants that was long enough and Reed couldn’t even button his. And don’t even get me started on the length of the ‘long’ sleeve shirts.

So shopping we went.

To Aéropostale and American Eagle. By the way, I was told by my guys that Gap is not so much anymore. Did you know that? I didn’t. And this was the first time I let them choose where we’d go. I was always the Kohl’s or Old Navy shopper but they’re getting to that age where they really care. I explained that the budget was the same: they could choose to have fewer items if they wanted. And they did.

I remember feeling that way too.

So we’re in these stores. And you know what? I did like the clothes, but the music was un-fricking-bearable. I actually like that kind of music - with a hard beat and rap and rock and pop - but it was so loud I could feel my heart beating out of my new Ipex.

And I figured out today what my mother must have learned back in the day. The music is a strategy.

A brilliant strategy.

Because what mother wouldn’t want to make the kid pick out clothes, pay, and get the heck outta there?

(Sorry, Mom.)

Walking past an exhibit for a local ski resort, Max pointed out a big sign in the booth. He laughed and laughed.

There’s no ME in TEAM.

Well, said Max, there really is. M. E. Isn’t it supposed to be no I in TEAM?

Sitting in the Wedgewood Farms Family Restaurant in Burlington, NJ the other day. We had a really good, simple meal that we thought was a great value. I was curious and looked it up when we got back. I found these reviews:

• Wedgewood has been around for 25 years, it is never really crowded so you can always get a quick seat and it’s located right off 295 and Route 541 so the located is good too. The food and service wasn’t that good on a recent visit there.
• We had not eaten at the Wedgewood in ages and after tonight my wife and I remember why. The service was extremely slow (”I almost forgot about you”), the food was poor…

So you can’t wait to hightail it up to Burlington, NJ and check it out, right? Well, bad reviews aside, their pancakes were fantastic. As good as they get.

But this is not why I brought up the restaurant. I brought it up because when our beehived waitress came over to take our drink order (2 lemonades, 1 water, 1 iced tea & 1 diet coke), she said, “Oh my goodness. Your sons look exactly the same. It’s amazing how much they look alike!” And then she smiled and kind of giggled.

So you know what I think is weird about that?

I don’t mean the hair.

Two things are really baffling.

1. Why would it be so shocking to have brothers look alike?
2. And why don’t I see it?

And by not see it, I mean I do not think my sons look all that much alike. I know they must, because I hear it constantly. But I swear to you, they do not look the same to me at all.

And why does anyone care? I can barely imagine how annoying it would be to be twins’ or triplets’ moms commenting with the same ole’ comment yet again. Whoo hoo. Smile politely.

But I digress.

My boys: Davis looks exactly like Andrew did at his age. Reed looks exactly like I did - aside from the haircut. And Max? He does have some of each. So if they look the same, does that mean Andrew and I look the same. But anyway,

Really this was an academic question. Maybe one of you knows something about ocular perception. Is there something about how each of us sees that makes us really see something different or do we just all see things with different attention to detail and depth? For instance, when you see a stranger, is the glance so superficial that you miss most? And we look so deeply at our children that we notice every pore and freckle?

And this doesn’t even touch on what I think about regarding why someone feels the need to comment on a stranger’s (or strangers’) appearance in the first place.

DJ Kirby did this meme as the perfect lazy Sunday type of post and then, she tagged me to play along. Sounded fun, so here goes.

Instructions:
A) Answer the questions below, do a Google Image search with your answer, take a picture from the first page of results, and do it with minimal words of explanation.
B) Tag 5 other people to do the same once you’ve finished answering every question.

1) The age you will be on your next birthday:

(It’s almost a year away!)

2. Your Favorite Place where you want to travel to:

3. Your favorite Place:

4. Your Favorite Food:

5. Your Favorite Pet:

6. Your Favorite Color Combination:

7. Your Favorite Piece of Clothing:

8. Your Favorite TV Show:

9. First Name of Your Significant Other:

10. The Town in which you Live:

11. Your First Job:

12. Your Dream Job:

13. A Bad Habit You Have:

14. Your Worst Fear:

15. What you would like to do before you die:

I tag Kristin, Liz, Lori, Ezer K, and Jay.

Friday breakfast in Maryland. Lunch and dinner in New Jersey in my sister’s sukkah. Saturday lunch in a diner off Turnpike exit 5. Dinner tonight in Ellicott City.

It’s been a busy week and a busy weekend so far. I have some thoughts brewing and will sit down to write soon.

How NOT to do customer service.
Andrew had an expensive pair of Modo glasses.

They broke on August 10th. He looked online but couldn’t find the frame. So he wrote to the company.

From: Andrew
Sent: Sun 8/10/2008 1:11 PM
To: sales MODO
Subject: mens model 926 frames titanium

Do you still make these? Mine just broke

Almost a month later, the sales department sent it to customer service.

From: sales MODO
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 10:25 AM
To: Customer Service MODO
Subject: FW: mens model 926 frames titanium

6 weeks later, customer service wrote to Andrew.

From: Customer Service: MODO
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 12:29 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: RE: mens model 926 frames titanium

Hi Andrew,
Sorry, we don’t make the 926 anymore.

Have you looked at some of our newer frames?

5 seconds later, Andrew replied (a little snippy but imagine if he hadn’t had glasses all that time!)

From: Andrew
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 3:56 PM
To: Customer Service MODO
Subject: RE: mens model 926 frames titanium

Wow - it only took you two months

Too late - I already bought new frames

And suddenly, customer service can respond to emails.

On Oct 15, 2008, at 3:58 PM

ok, thank you very much. enjoy your new glasses.

Welcome.

The room.

The bed.

The robes.

Komi. The restaurant.

Scallops two ways. One of fourteen mezzethekia.

The first wine. (Aside from the champagne.)

Parsnip potato gelato and hanger steak tartar. Another of the fourteen.

Slow roasted kastiaki for two.

Accompaniments for the kastiaki.

Inside the fortune cookies. From the chef.

The Bottom Line.

Dupont Circle Metro. Going out to eat. Again.

Who needs words?

Cute, huh? Such tourists!

Don’t even talk to me about the helmet.

The Supreme Court. Did you know there was a basketball court in the attic?

Home again.

There’s no place like home.

Children under 12 free.

Does anyone else think this is funny?

I’m jamming on a big project but hope to post a ‘real’ post when I take a break later on.