Holiday; Bowing; Used CDs; CD Players; Mall Strolling; Ruby Slippers

I actually have a four-day holiday, AND I'm not sick. At any moment, I'm sure catastrophe will strike. A meteorite will penetrate my roof and zap my tv. The DEA will knock down my door looking for a local crack house. Well, maybe I am being a wee bit over dramatic.

As usual, I took my lunch Saturday at Little Tokyo. It is really a very small place that somehow manages to support about 15 tables at most. (It is totally dwarfed by the next-door golf shop - Nevada Bobs.) I sat a few feet away from the owner's wife and her mother, who speaks no English. The wife and mother bowed, and I tried to make an appropriate reply. The art of Japanese bowing is far beyond my level of expertise, so I try to do something with the shoulders and leave it at that. (Bowing is taken VERY SERIOUSLY in Japan! Within the last few weeks, I read that the Japanese prime minister made several major bowing mistakes that may undermine his party's political power.)

Since I've been on a listening-to-CDs-kick for a couple of weeks, I decided yesterday to visit the premiere oldies store in the area - The Little Big Store. It is located about 20-miles to the southwest in the town of Raymond, home to Hinds Community College. TLBS is housed in the old train station and packed to the rafters with vinyl, audio cassettes, video cassettes, posters, more vinyl, CDs, 8-tracks, and more vinyl. I was thinking along the lines of a "used cd" place, but this was far more esoteric. So my visit was brief.

I tried to get a sense of what the building was like when it actually functioned as a station. But the train-side is minus the platform. And walls appear to have been added over the years. The one thing you do notice is that it is about three times as long as it is wide.

Sunday, I meandered through Target looking at desk-top-stereo-systems. Little ones, middle-sized ones, and biggies. Papa bear, mama bear, baby bear. But nothing that bowled me over.

Today, I did almost, but not quite, zilch. How refreshing! I did ramble to the local mall, something I do very rarely. Some refurbishing has occurred recently, so it has a fresher look. The carpets in the public areas have been replaced with pink and white marble. The Nature Company was running a special on miniature fountains, and I almost bought one. But I'm sure the kitties would disassemble it in about ten minutes. After about twenty minutes of strolling around, I remembered why I don't go there a lot: I'm allergic to the odors - candles, perfumes, clothing dyes, fried foods, dried plants, fresh paint. My eyes were watering, my nose was congested and I had a headache. Next time, I'll use a hazmat suit.

Earlier I was watching "Wizard of Oz." The ruby slippers are possibly the #1 icon of American moviedom. But no one is certain how many pairs there were, or what happened to them. A pair sold for $666K at Christie's East in May. Visit The Ruby Slippers of "Oz" Facts & Myths for some great info. Impressive site.

PAX!