Yesterday At the Mall

Coming back from Andover, and passing South Shore Plaza. I needed or thought I needed a new handbag. Used to buy them at the Coach Outlet in East Hampton and now we, alas, don't go there anymore since friends are gone.

Thought a reasonably priced straw handbag would be cool. Didn't see much online. A Douney and Bourke caught my eye Macy's web site, but I thought I better check it out.

The mall was mobbed, a circus. They must have been giving away free makeup at the Mac counter. Sale handbags piled up in a big higgelty-piggelty mess. Big icky handbags. Guess was the worst. Way too much chrome, chrone and gold and silver. I already have a gold bag, thanks. No Douney and Bourke bag like the one I was eyeing. Saw a couple I liked that were, shall we say, out of my price range. What was the old saying, champagne tastes on a beer budget. That's moi.

Ventured out into the mall. Even more people, almost chaotic. Strafed through a shitload of stores, no suitable bag. Filene's Basement a total bust. Lots of cheap ugly stuff that looked like it had been made for the Basement. They do that, you know. Make up stuff strictly to sell at outlets.

Waylaid by cell phone kiosk people, and then "natural handcream" guy. We all know I've been planting all week, and must confess planting without gloves. Had not groomed nails except to scrub. Hands looks like hell. Clean would be the best you could say. The guy takes my hand. Don't know if he visibly shuddered or not. These hands cook, scrub pots, dig in the soil, clean house. They haven't seen a professional manicure for years. I tell him, "sorry" and race off. Slink by the kiosk on the other side coming out of the Basement. In Boston, "Basement" always means Filene's.

Off to Lord and Taylor. After Macy's an oasis of calm. They have the Dooney and Bourke bag, but I decide it's too small. Straw bags must be out of style, like tailored blazers. The stuff you find out when you go shopping. The clerk, nice and helpful, shioot, I could have been at Nordstroms they were so helpful, said Kate Spade had some straw bags, but they had sold them all.

Find a cute leather bag for less. Sort of powder blue. Goes with summer clothes, right size, price is right. Get all kinds of discounts. Yay! Price is even righter, and another 15% off when I pay the bill. Practically giving the bag away.

S.O. ostensibly napping in the car is reading the car manual. When all else fails, read the manual. Or RTFM as we used to say in IS. Wish I had a dollar for every hour I poured over the IBM manuals. COBOL, operations, CICS, VSAM, DL/I. I used to know lots of cool stuff. Make those big blue mainframes dance. Yup.

Discovered there's a Cheesecake Factory at the Mall. I have never ever been to a Cheesecake Factory because there is always a 45 minute wait. Once on a rainy Monday at 5:00 p.m. at the Natick Mall there was a 45 minute wait. People are leaving with lots of doggie bags. Big bags. Place is a pig out factory, not what I need, I think ruefully, remembering lots of clothes for skinny 18 year olds. When I was that age, I had hardly any money to buy clothes. Maybe 40 - 50 dollars a month. We all wore black suede loafers. And other clothes, of course. Shame on you.

New idea for a novel. Just kind of came to me. Weird. Maybe I should go shopping more often.

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