Now, it happens from time to time that there is a shooting at the mall.
We try not to take it personally - this is life in community.
Not unlike our recent snow day, there's a flash in the pan then the all clear.
How could we not go back?
That's where Barnes & Noble lives; Claires, Boxed Lunch, EarthBound and Hot Topic too
( can you tell I am raising a teen-aged girl? ;)
They have Komma Tea and Mr Cow's CornDogs - not to mention the accu-pressure people and that fancy cotton candy machine.
And so it startled us a little when the cowboy ran into Rue21 yesterday.
He swerved to miss a clothing rack, crouching his tall frame low beside the cash register.
What was he going to do? Who was he running from?
He seemed to be smiling, his neck tattoos looked neutral enough.
He was wearing earbuds and a large white cowboy hat.
And then, we had an answer, and just as suddenly, many more questions.
From his position near the registers, he scooped the entire stock of one men's cologne into his arms.
It appeared to be Rue21 Sport but I didn't get close enough to be certain.
He lined the boxes up at the back of the registers and went to pick out some pink pajama pants
(Was he an employee on his lunch break? Day off? We couldn't tell)
Amused, we were now aware that fragrances were 50% off (*some exceptions apply) and we sniffed the
various bottles left on the fragrance display.
Now there came a moment when we were checking out that I could have had an easy laugh- it was low
hanging fruit for the taking "And I'll take all of those" I could have said, gesturing to the colognes
lined up like an infantry.
He was in line behind me, the comic timing was there, the amusement in the air was right, but the
lanky cowboy's companion seemed less likely to laugh along under her own ten-gallon cowgirl hat.
So I kept it between Rye & me.
While he waited behind us, I heard him ask a shopgirl where the tester bottles were.
I heard him offer to buy that one, too.
Rye gathered her purchases and we turned to leave as I heard the cowboy tell the cashier
"Should be thirty eight there"
Each day may seem like the same old (same old) songbut how many times will that one happen again, do you wager? I reckon not a lot.
So I write it down to remember: In this box of Ordinary Life Oh's there are lots of sweet and colorful Offbeat Marshmallows.
All we gotta do is dig in.
