I’m finding the things that excite me lately as odd. This occurred to me last week when I was in Bi-Lo, our grocery store because I was so happy to be there.
I’ve never been really happy about being in a grocery store before. Especially not as a kid. Going to the grocery store when Mom had a big list was so unappealing.
But, it wouldn’t be now.
So, I stepped into our brand new Bi-Lo, which is within walking distance of our house, and my first thought was, “I love it here” which was followed by “This place is beautiful” and then “I want to be here.” Seriously, the store is beautiful. It has a chicken wing bar, an olive bar, a hot food section, a coffee bar, bread from a reputable local bakery, and a restored 1922 Ford delivery truck with wooden spoke wheels in the produce section. There are tables and chairs in a windowed nook for dining. The ceilings are high with skylights. The interior lighting is perfect. I want to go to Bi-Lo everyday, with or without a list. Marcy said we should come here for dates, and I don’t think she was joking. Anyway, I wasn’t joking when I agreed.
I’m sure any Bi-Lo executives that read blogs are peeing their pants right now, but I don’t care.
Grocery stores are not the only surprising thing that piques my interests lately. When I was a kid I liked cars that could either corner well, get to 60 mph in an insanely short amount of time, produce a great deal of power or any combination thereof. Now, I am impressed with gas mileage, safety, and interior ergonomics. I have almost no regard for performance any more. When did that happen? In fact, I no longer view cars as entertainment or a pastime as I once did; now I see them as…ready for this?….transportation. My evaluation of a car’s ability to transport me from one place to another has nothing to do with power or top speed. As I drive through town in my woefully inefficient 24mpg car, I look at all the other gas guzzling, pollutant producing vehicles on the road—the thousands and thousands of them just in my city alone—and think, “Could we not do better than this over the course of 100 years? With all the technology we have gained, are we still making cars the same way we made 1922 Ford delivery trucks?”
In fact, the 1922 Ford delivery truck is more appealing to me right now than most cars on the market. Once cylinder, 22 horsepower (pretty close to my riding lawn mower) used to be enough to haul two people and a truckload of vegetables across town. When did we start needing 200 horsepower livingrooms on wheels?
Well, anyway, how and when did I change from craving speed and amusement parks to efficiency and gorgeous grocery stores with pumpkin donuts? The slightly haughty side of me likes to think that it happened because I chose to leave childish things behind me, but I doubt it. I think I used to like fast or powerful cars and amusement parks because they made life seem more fun. Now, enticing grocery stores within walking distance and a car that doesn’t suck my wallet dry would add more to my quality of life than any other peripheral right now.
Kudos to Bi-Lo. Now if the auto executives will just get their heads out of their tailpipes and start making desirable cars.
You know what would be even better? A really good public transportation system in Chattanooga. That could be exciting!
4 comments:
Part of the reason I still hesitate to blog* is that I'd feel the pressure to blog at least once per day. As someone who spends the work day in front of a computer, I'm not willing to subject myself to digital tyranny at home++, but I see you aren't either. That's refreshing. Perhaps I'll revisit the idea, as it seems to have been cathartic and therapeutic for you.
*the most noble thing in the world... Oh, wait--that's "true love"
++I prefer the matriarchal kind
(re: yet to blog), I also need one more online account to keep track of like I need a third nostril--but I just discovered I can use my Google account here! My plaster defenses are crumbling!
Steve, I would love to read your blogs. You have always had a way with words. I remember you describing distate you had for a girl as "exponential everyday"; later you referred to her saying that she had resurfaced again like a submerged body that had filled with the gases of millions of some kind of bacteria...except that it was clever and more elegant than that. What a funny observation, I thought then, and I wish I could express them so well. Even your two comments with the multiple asterisks are so aptly worded; if your comments are this fun to read, I would be a fan of your blogs for sure. Let me know if you ever start!
Hey Jeff! I just made a link to you over at my place. I tried to get to Marcy's blog, but couldn't find it. Is it separate from News From the Nursery?
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