Interesting Times

I got up at 9AM. It was pretty much the same weather as yesterday - sunny, cool, windy, and on-and-off cloudy. I'll take that. I had a late cereal breakfast and watched Bowery Boys movies before heading to the Acme to pick up this week's paycheck.

Didn't really need a whole lot at the Acme. My shopping didn't take long, and might have taken even less time if I remembered my list. I restocked my yogurt (Dannon is on sale this week). I bought some more beef chunks for stew, and more flounder packs. I grabbed mousse mixes for mousse pies. Stocked up on pens while they're on back-to-school sales. Picked up the Land-O-Lakes Brown Eggs on sale for $2.50.

After I headed home, I put everything away and ate a Peanut Butter and Apple Butter sandwich for lunch. It was getting cloudier and windier, but otherwise, the weather remained decent. It was too decent to hang around inside all day, and I had to run to the bank anyway, so I went for a walk.

The bank was my first stop. As I was giving the teller my check to deposit, she told me the diner down the street in Oaklyn had burned down. I couldn't believe it. I hoped she didn't mean the Newton Diner. I love that place. I just ate there a month ago - that's where I won Twilight the Horse from a crane game. They're food is greasy but good and decently price, and they have great service.

As I strolled down the White Horse Pike, I crossed my fingers and hoped they hadn't meant the Newton Diner. After all, there are at least 14,795 diners in New Jersey. She could have meant somewhere else.

The big red firetrucks next to the Ritz Theater gave me my unfortunate answer. Yes, it was the Newton Diner that burned down. It looked pretty bad, too, at least what I could bring myself to look at of it. I saw some of the roof and walls, but the inside was as black as tar. I just couldn't stand any more carnage and turned down the block next to WaWa. I walked into Audubon via the train footbridge instead of the White Horse Pike.

Had a much nicer time there. Bob at Abbie Road is having a sale on used CDs. Used 1-disc sets are $4.99; 2-disc sets are $6.99. I bought the album for the long-running 1977 original cast of A Chorus Line from the used sale. Picked up a Chocolate Italian Soda from The TreeHouse Cafe after leaving Abbie Road. Stopped at Willie the Woodsman and Wife's, too, and bought the new WebKinz Gobbler Turkey. Browsed in Act Two Collectibles, but I didn't buy anything.

The weather had become gloomier as I headed back to Oaklyn. The clouds that were just fleecy bits when I was at the Acme were now full and thick, with no blue showing through. It was windy, cool, and gloomy...the perfect afternoon to spend dusting and listening to cassettes of 20s music.

As I dusted the bedroom, I tripped over the edge of my just-made bed and landed hard on my knee on the carpeted floor. Ouch! I don't think I did any permanent damage - I can move it just fine - but my lower left knee is now rug-burned and sore. It's going to have a very nice lump by tomorrow.

In addition to the dusting, I finally did something I've been putting off for a month. I bought an address book at the Wildwood Boardwalk so I could clear all the random phone numbers and addresses off various surfaces in my apartment, including the phone table next to my bed, the junk dresser in the living room, and the refrigerator. I've had my old address book since college, and it was filled with the numbers and addresses of people I haven't heard from in years. Not to mention, almost everyone I know who lives further than down the street from me has moved within the last decade.

After I finally finished the dusting, I made Chicken Therese and spinach and tomato salad for dinner and watched the Japanese animated movie Ponyo. Ponyo is a variation on The Little Mermaid. A fish who is the daughter of a powerful sea god is saved by a little boy who feeds her and takes care of her. She becomes so fond of him (and of the ham he feeds her), she longs to become human herself. When she finally makes her wish come true, it upsets the balance of nature so badly that a storm nearly washes the town where the boy and his mother live away. Ponyo's mother opts to let her daughter become fully human and restore the balance of nature...if she can pass her challenges...

This is a sweet, delightful, simple tale of two kids who learn about the importance of family, the ocean, and friendship. And I especially love the daring, strong-willed mother, who literally out-races a tsunami in her SUV, takes care of old ladies, and cares for her son while her husband is at sea. She reminds me so, so much of my mother when I was 5, right down to the short hairstyle.

Oh, and meet Mayflower, the Gobbler Turkey! The stuffed animal will eventually become a Thanksgiving decoration. The online May will be moved with her mate, Plymouth the Turkey. I'll relocate Alex the Citrus Dragon to the new Cabana Room.