Suburbia

I Was So Wrong About Going To The Grocery

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

I was dreading my trip to the grocery yesterday afternoon.  I even tweeted this before I left.

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However, once I got inside our Kroger, which was hopping, I realized that they had things well in hand.  Lots of carts available.  Shelves stocked.  Oodles of samples.  Extra cashiers.  As well as…

a woman employee dressed in her usual uniform…

wearing a white silk sash a la Miss America & a glitzy rhinestone tiara on her head…

wandering around the store helping everyone find what they needed.

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Who was this woman with the gracious demeanor, sincere smile, wave of a beauty pageant contestant and endless knowledge of the store?

As her sash clearly stated, she was: Miss Information.  Of course!

Three Changes I’ve Made During The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

1.  I’ve started watching CBS news.  I used to watch ABC, but our local affiliate could not shut up about the national election.  It was weird.

So I clicked over onto CBS and discovered that our local affiliate talked about [get this] local news & weather & traffic.  And that CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose, Gayle King & Norah O’Donnell is a delight.  No sales pitches. No silliness. No crowds of onlookers.  Just [get this] news & intelligent discussion & quiet humor.

In other words, my kind of people.

2.  I decided to boycott a business because this small, local business put up way too many political signs in front of its store.  While it is a right for any business to do this, it is also my right to stop frequenting an establishment because of it.  There are consequences for extreme partisanship– and one is the loss of customers who believe that politics is a personal matter, not part of a business plan.

[In fairness, I cannot take credit for this idea.  A friend pointed out to me that she had stopped going to her doctor because this doctor had become so blatantly political outside & inside her practice, that my friend walked away from the practice.]

There is a time & place for all things.

3.  I have learned to drive more slowly and with much more awareness.  Those darned lawn signs obscure who or what might be darting out from behind them.  Small children & pets are drawn to those signs, and more than once I’ve hit the brakes while driving through suburbia because I’ve noticed suspicious movement around the signs.

I understand that to many people political signs are a right… a need… an important way to make a difference.  So if you do put them out in front of your property, please consider putting them up close to your house instead of by the street.  I know they’ll be less visible, but doing such might avert a horrible accident.

Just saying, no offense intended…

When You Leave Your House What Do You See Every Day?

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I think that it’s easy to forget that what you see every day is not what everyone else sees every day.  We all live such different lives.  

So a couple of weeks ago I took my camera with me one day as I ran errands around here.  It was an exceptionally pretty + quiet late summer day.  Nothing much was going on anywhere that I went, but I took photos anyway.  

Here are a few of them… just so you can see what I see almost every day.

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If I’m Chopped Liver, Then You’re Bologna

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

Some situations provoke me to the point of regressing to my EIGHT YEAR OLD LITTLE GIRL SELF… mouthing off… under my breath… to myself… about someone.

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To wit, as I may or may not have mentioned before, I live in a suburb that is non-friendly.  People are neutral about other people.  Pleasant, but indifferent.  Aware, but detached.  Previously polite to a fault.

This I can live with.

But what I cannot condone is rudeness.  And that is what I’m finding more often when I go outside for a walk.

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For example, yesterday as I was walking along – up & down the hills – around the curves, I said “hi” or “hello” to all the people who I passed.  I exhibited a modicum of good manners.

I. Was. Nice.

People with headphones nodded at me.  People talking on phones waved hello.  People with dogs shouted a greeting back at me.  People just out for a stroll said “hi” or “hello” back to me as I walked by them.

However, people reading their smart phones as they walked along – up & down the hills – around the curves IGNORED ME.

Besides the obvious fact that it’s foolhardy to not pay attention to where you’re going when you’re walking along – up & down the hills – around the curves, it is rude to not acknowledge the person who is near you in real life.

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As we all know, REJECTION HURTS.

So naturally, being the mature adult that I am, I started talking to myself about this boorish behavior.  My muttering monologue went something like this…

ADULT ME [sarcastic, through clenched teeth]: Well, don’t say anything to me.  Just. Being. Polite.

CHILD ME [insulted]: Hey, hey– what’s wrong with you, you poopy head?

ADULT ME [irritated]: Boy, I tell you, Ally– you try to be nice & see what you get?

CHILD ME [frantic]: Hey booger face, I’m over here.  What am I?  Chopped liver? Huh?!

ADULT ME [resigned, with a sigh]: Whatever.  Some people aren’t even worth the bother.

CHILD ME [zinging away]: Well, well, well… if I’m chopped liver, then you’re bologna.  Cut thick.  Just like you, fatso!

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Bottom line truth of this story?  I LOVED BEING SNOTTY RIGHT BACK AT THESE PEOPLE.  Granted, the conversation was only in my head, but it was lots of fun to mouth off like that.  Kind of a forgotten pleasure of childhood– empowering & entertaining.

SO THERE.