1. Sadly this past week actress Shannen Doherty lost her battle with cancer. She was only 53. It’s especially jarring being someone who used to watch Beverly Hill 90210 with my sister Kate to see now that both Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry are gone. Both Brenda and Dylan. So sad, rest in peace.
2. Well it only took until July 14th to see the first Back to School ad. This was for Walmart. Now I understand that some schools in other areas of the country start the year earlier, but where I live it’s the standard week after Labor Day. Making it more than 7 weeks until kids go back to school. In fact, I think most kids got out of school about 3 weeks ago meaning that they’re way less than ½ way through their summer vacation and already being reminded of going back to school. Soon companies will start their back-to-school campaigns before the current year even ends.
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| Coming soon to a school near you. |
3. In the latest episode of the Entitled Karen show I was at 7/11 grabbing a drink on my way to work. There was a decent line for registers but nobody was using the one self-checkout register. The woman ahead of me in line shouted out to see if anyone was going to use it and when everyone said no she went up. She was in trouble when she tried to scan a 12-pack of White Claws at the self-checkout. It needed her to show an ID to someone. Naturally, she got frustrated at such inconvenience. Eventually, she groaned and yelled out that she ‘gave up’ to one of the cashiers and walked out. She left all of her stuff there like a jerk of course. I went up, scanned my drink, and handed the White Claw case to the cashier, and was done in 30 seconds.
4. It was so flattering to hear from an old friend who was working at a library. They said a woman came in looking for books on historic Cape Cod places. When my books were recommended not only had she read them all, she was a regular listener to my podcast, and wanted to be a writer herself. I’m not saying I am an inspiration to her but it’s humbling to think maybe something I’ve done in my career is driving someone else to do something in theirs.
5. At the Stop & Shop supermarket chain they charge you 10 cents for paper bags. No biggie, I have a pile of reusable bags so it doesn’t affect me. I see loads of other shoppers bringing their own recyclable bags with them as well. However this week on back-to-back days I saw 2 different people bring in a cardboard box and use that for their groceries. They literally walked around the store holding a cardboard box. It’s one part clever, one part stupid as hell. I found myself laughing and shaking my head at both of them.
6. A woman came into my work needing shockwave therapy on a sore plantar fascia and calf. The Cliff's Notes is that shockwave therapy is a non-invasive treatment that stimulates the body’s natural healing process. It can relieve pain and promote healing of injured tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues. Anyway, she came in with this cute little puppy that adored her. Unfortunately, the shockwave therapy machine and the process are relatively loud. Rather than having the puppy watch its owner getting this treatment and possibly yelling as it can be a bit painful to start, I chose to have the puppy kept outside of the room. No need to scar a puppy for life if it can be avoided.
7. I can’t watch ‘Best Kills’ of the Friday the 13th series before bed and then pretend to be surprised when my dream consists of me having to defeat Jason in a sort of living video game. Luckily in this dream, my 2 weapons that did the trick were shining a bright light in his face, and pushing him out the door, and locking it behind him. Why didn’t any of those teens in the movies try those?
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| In my dreams Jason can't use doors apparently |
8. Speaking of dreams, does anyone ever have a dream about a person they hadn’t seen, or even thought of, in over 30 years? The other night I dreamed I was at a party but the host was a kid I went to elementary school with. I hadn’t thought of him or heard his name in probably 30 years, but now it’s front and center in my brain. Maybe I should find him and reach out?
9. I noticed this week that one of the Shaw’s supermarkets on Cape Cod has put up a sign banning dogs from the store since it’s a health violation. My first thought was ‘do people really need to be told not to bring pets into a grocery store?’ This was never an issue all throughout my growing up. Dogs stayed in cars or at home. Service dog? Maybe. Regular pet? You might need therapy because you’ve got some bigger issues.
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| No longer to be seen at Shaw's |
10. I never thought a specific automobile could make my Enemies List if I had one, but it happened this week. I was driving home and while making a left turn was cut off by a gray Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. It whipped around me and was so dangerous that the car in front of me pulled over and waved those jerks to let them pass. No more than 5 minutes later I was going straight at a light when a car in the Right Turn Only lane swerved in front of me because they were too stupid to know how to read traffic signs. That vehicle was another gray VW Tiguan. That’s right 2 of the same exact vehicle cut me off within 5 minutes. Do dealerships sell those SUVs specifically to certain types of people?
11. I had a great speaking event at the Osterville Library this week talking about my book Cape Cod Nights. The library parking lot was full though thanks to an art show on the front lawn. I ended up parking on the next street over. Even though I was told I’d be fine there during my event there was a little part of my brain expecting to either have a ticket on my windshield when I went back out, or my car would have just been towed. No worries though, everything was fine.
12. In a fun bit of local celebrity meeting one of the people that came to my event in Osterville after the talk revealed himself to be the legendary mailman whose truck was attacked by turkeys on camera back in 2011. It went viral and he was a sensation for a while. So now I can say I’ve met the turkey-fighting mailman and the guy who got swallowed by the humpback whale. What a life I live.
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