This Week in the Bottom Shelf: One of my favorite ways to discover books is just to walk the aisles of the library. I get lost in book-ish reverie picking up books, judging them (probably too) harshly and putting them right back until I’ve chosen a small pile to take home and spend some time with. And every time, I always feel bad for the books on the bottom shelf . In other places like bars and groceries, the bottom shelf product equals crap. Not so with books. They just got a bad break via the alphabet/dewy decimal system. I’m always rooting for them to move up!
The Week in Grief, Grits, and Gettin’ Down: Last weekend the part-owner and founder of Boomtown Biscuits passed away unexpectedly. It was a real gut punch for the restaurant which closed down for a day and expressed their grief through social media. The restaurant sits one block from my apartment and I go there often. This week felt like I had to be there to make sure they were okay. They are okay.
I stuck with a small dinner of cheesy grits and greens with a couple biscuits. This is the kind of meal I call vegetarian-esque, because those little pieces of pork in the greens aren’t statistically significant.
Which brings me to the “gettin’ down” portion of my trip to Boomtown… I told the young bartender I was planning on seeing Van Morrison in concert in a couple weeks. Predictably, she didn’t know who Van Morrison was and there’s no shame in that given her age. But I knew she would know the song Brown Eyed Girl and I confidently sang a bit of it. I’m proud to say she recognized the song (or maybe she just said she did so I would stop). Either way, a great inter-generational music moment.
The Week in Brain Power: On Monday me and a friend arrived at Brew Dog just as their weekly trivia concert was starting. So we joined in. I’d never played bar trivia before, but my friend had, and, despite a lack of sports knowledge, we won 1st place and a $50 Brew Dog gift card. A few answers we missed / opportunities for improvement: David Cook, Richard Sherman, Los Angeles Dodgers, Bangladesh, sushi, 60 ft. and B&O.
One of the questions was a four parter where four spaces on a monopoly board were whited out and we had to name what was in the square. Pretty cool question we got 2 of four.
The Week in Skewing the Calendar: Around the corner from the TJ Maxx Valentine’s display is an entire aisle of Easter/Spring items. Before people start buying this stuff (because not everyone can project into the future), the selection is at its fullest and weirdest. So much weirdness!
The Week in How to Get Along: At Kroger waiting for my Mom to finish paying I took a seat on a bench next to an older gentleman. He turned 95 in December. I asked him what he was going to have for dinner tonight. He said he didn’t know because his wife did all the cooking. I asked if she was a good cook. Without hesitation he said, “eh, fair” and he started to chuckle. I told him his secret was safe with me! The two of us had quite a laugh. That’s a man who knows how to maintain a relationship!
Nothing Ever Happens on My Street 