Every Time a Bell Rings

On Saturday we went to Union Square to check out the seasonal shops and K bought orchid earrings. An artisan takes live flowers and dips them in resin to create a preservative shell, pretty kewl.

Afterward we went to see a screening of It's a Wonderful Life. The place was packed and we were lucky to get seats together! An unexpected bonus was that Mary Owen (Donna Reed's daughter) gave an intro to the show. She said that Jimmy Stewart kept putting off the "George, George, Mary, Mary" telephone scene until one day he said he was ready and they did it all in one take.

Loaning $$ to The Big 3

It's hard for me to imagine what this country would look like without an auto industry and the resulting misery of millions more being unemployed will touch us all. I'm an advocate of loaning the companies money but it should be done with lots of strings attached.

Why can't politicians come up with a set of metrics that lay out expectations for quantitative improvement within a specific time? If those expectations are not met then there are consequences - plant closings, salary reductions, et al. Instead all we hear about are parts of the bill that take pot shots at the unions in the form of demands for salary concessions.

Motorcycle Helmet

K and C took me to the local Honda place to get my Christmas gift, a new helmet. The prev one is 14 years old and showing its age. It's an XXL and the new one is XXXL. Talk about a swelled head. I know they loosen up as you wear them but my head felt like it was in a vice when I tried the XXLs on.

Tire Mounting

I bought 2 tires. One to replace the flat and another to be mounted on same axle. K took the car to Vince's Saturday morning and asked that he choose the worst of the remaining 3 tires to replace. He chose the passenger rear so the new tires are on the rear. $38 complete.

He asked that when we're ready to replace the others that we get a quote from him for what it would cost if he ordered the tires.

Shopping AC

Found ourselves in Atlantic City on Saturday, the day after Black Friday. Part of me wanted to mix with the crowd that I'd seen on the TV news and as we drove into town it was obvious that wasn't going to be a problem.

If you take the expressway to the end it dumps you out on Pacific Ave in front of Caesars where there is a large outlet mall called The Walk. It includes Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Timberland, Banana Republic, etc. And it was mobbed! The first thing Kevie noticed was the long line waiting to get into The Coach Store.

But, behind the casino, off the boardwalk is an up scale mall called The Pier. It includes AG Adriano Goldschmied, A|X Armani Exchange, Burberry, etc. And Apple fan boys understand that The Pier is the true Atlantic City Destination. As expected The Apple Store was packed but the rest of the mall was deserted. Most stores had no customers.

Maybe this is the final comment on this holiday shopping season. Bargains yes, extravagance no.