There’s this nice little Mexican restaurant in San
Diego. It’s called Palamino’s, named
after the USS Palamino in the Disney movie “The Black Hole.” We usually opt for their chimichanga
combination plate. (My wife likes the
shredded beef; I go for carnitas). They offer
great tasting chips, hot carrots, and fresh salsas. Eating there is a pleasure, and better yet,
we end up with leftovers for home!
As we’re contemplating alternatives to cable TV service, we
went to Fry’s Electronics on Saturday, figuring that their helpful staff could
advise us. Strangely, the store had
completely redesigned their interior, and although they appeared adequately
staffed, the workers just breezed past us, as if we existed in another
dimension, one that allowed us to see them, but prevented them from seeing
us. I finally went up to the camera
counter, and told a gentleman what we were looking for. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” So I repeated, telling him that Cox Cable
seemed to be charging too much money these days. “You want a coaxial cable?” he asked. By this time, my wife and I had grown
frustrated. So I told him “Never mind,”
and walked away. Fry’s Electronics
stocks lots of neat products, and we saw much that tempted us. But when a store staffs its floor with people
who either are uninterested in serving us, or incapable of doing so, we find
ourselves reluctant to support them.
Oh well…off to Palamino’s for calories and consolation.
As we were leaving the restaurant, a woman stopped my wife
at the door. “Excuse me, but where did
you get that shirt?” she asked. While I
had opted for warmth, my wife had braved wearing her Jaime Sommers T-shirt on
this pleasant winter day. We told her
about meeting Richard Anderson at Stan Lee’s Comikaze, and she and her husband
mentioned that they attended Comicon, but had never seen a shirt like my
wife’s. The woman shared that she had a
big photo of Jaime Sommers hanging on the wall above her desk. From the way she described it, it sounded
more like a poster. She said that Jaime
Sommers was a big inspiration to her, which was why she had purchased the
photo, and placed it in such a prominent location.
For so many people, TV shows such as “The Bionic Woman” are
just passing entertainment. If they like
the show, and have bought them on DVD, more than likely they do so for the
gentler, slower-paced stories than the studios make today. It’s a special joy to connect with people who
view one of your favorite fictional characters as a role model. Those moments remind us that great characters
take on a life of their own. They never
die, because they live on inside us.
Now, if only they could advise me on my alternatives to
cable TV.
Dragon Dave
Related Dragon Cache entries
No comments:
Post a Comment