The classics
I had my car's oil changed today. There was gentle splattery rain, soggy beauty bark on the asphalt; I waited in the lobby and examined People magazine. One article had old pictures of big stars. Matthew McConaughey looked like a regular funny kid. Tom Cruise looked like a staring, startled loon, even then. One of the mechanics came in behind the counter and showed me a smear of dirty transmission fluid, and I okayed a change.
The entire process took 20 or 25 minutes. The mechanic returned and said "Prizm!" I went to the counter; another customer seated behind me was reading to his toddler son: "Hop. Pop. You should not hop on Pop!" We grinned at them. The mechanic said his personal favorite Seuss was Horton Hears a Who. And the Richard Scarry books -- he cited "Planes, Trains, and Boats." This is actually three books. I talked about that store in one of the books, the way the shelves held a single potato, or a pair of apples. The mechanic chuckled and nodded, and said the book he'd learned to read from is "banned now:" Little Black Sambo. It's not. You can still find it. I'm pretty good at nodding and smiling, though.
The entire process took 20 or 25 minutes. The mechanic returned and said "Prizm!" I went to the counter; another customer seated behind me was reading to his toddler son: "Hop. Pop. You should not hop on Pop!" We grinned at them. The mechanic said his personal favorite Seuss was Horton Hears a Who. And the Richard Scarry books -- he cited "Planes, Trains, and Boats." This is actually three books. I talked about that store in one of the books, the way the shelves held a single potato, or a pair of apples. The mechanic chuckled and nodded, and said the book he'd learned to read from is "banned now:" Little Black Sambo. It's not. You can still find it. I'm pretty good at nodding and smiling, though.