I legally changed my name 20 years ago. For the very first time since I made that change, I wrote my former name down without thinking. Why?! It could be that this Christmas I am feeling particularly close to my brother, who passed away in July, and that is the name I carried through many of my memories of our time together. It does seem very odd though, to have written that down without even realizing it.
The road is white and snow packed. The sidewalks are intermittently cleared or covered with frozen, uneven mounds of ice and snow.
My daily walk has become untenable, hopefully this is temporary, but that remains to be seen. So, I am planning a remedy walk at Walmart. Say what you like about the big box stores, but their floors are always level, and clear of snow and ice. There are smaller stores to visit of course, but they would not appreciate me walking around the interior in circles for an extended period of time, and their ware is more costly than the fare at Walmart. I always manage to find something at Walmart that I need and can afford. This is the hardest part of winter, the restrictions on mobility. It is worst for people with some disabilities, seniors, and mothers of young children. If I could do one thing in Canada to improve community life, it would be to keep walkways cleared of snow and ice through the winter. Think of how much employment that could create!
In preparation for this incredible excursion, first I will eat a banana. It does not due to enter a retail establishment when you are hungry; you never know what you will be tempted to spend money on. Then I will put together a magnificent fashion-crime-chic ensemble to wow them at Walmart. Walmart is the perfect venue for fashion-crime-chic, maybe some spiteful clever soul will take my picture to display for public shaming and ridicule on their Facebook page, or blog, or twitter… do they display images on twitter? Anyway, that doesn’t really matter. Today I am feeling just a bit irreverent, and this little excursion should scratch the itch.
My main purchase today will be garbage bag stickers. Of course, they don’t sell these at Walmart, so the local convenience store will be my first destination. I won’t be able to strut my fashion-crime-chic outfit there though, because it is in a area of subsidized housing, and the competition for first place is just too fierce. I am resigned to blending in as an average citizen on my first stop.
But first the banana!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-3°C
Date: 10:00 AM EST Tuesday 20 December 2016
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 103.0 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: -2.5°C
Dew point: -6.2°C
Humidity: 76%
Wind: SSW 32 gust 43 km/h
Wind Chill: -10
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it.”
Gloria Swanson
1899 – 1983
