Black Friday . . . and the silverware salesman

Last Friday, which was the black one, I ventured out of the house which was quite unusual for me as I don’t like to shop at all. When I told my friends what I had done, it was shock and awe! Why would I go out on that day, of all days? Well, I wanted a new computer monitor and figured that would be the day to do it. So out I went and into a big electronics store that is on its way to bankruptcy . . . but aren’t they all? I went directly to the monitors and looked at them, not knowing what I was looking at really. A sales clerk came up to me and started helping me. He looked like he was about 12 years old, and he had been working there for only three weeks. He probably didn’t know much more than I about computers. But I didn’t want to spend much time looking at too many things there, so I pointed to one and said, “I’ll take that one.” That was fine with him and he even carried it out of the store for me. Yesterday my computer guy who is really smart and puts up with my foolishness and downright stupidity came out and set it up for me. It is big and I can see it better than my old one. So I think I made the right choice. I don’t know if it was on sale or not – I didn’t bother to ask. But I’m happy.

Today I made lunch for my brother and sister-in-law. I very seldom have company that eats, but when I do I like to use cloth napkins. I have 6 which were my mom’s – probably from her wedding gifts. They’re the only ones I have, and I thought about them as I was trying to go to sleep last night. I hadn’t ironed them since I had last washed them. So I leaped out of bed, put up the ironing board and ironed three of them. I managed to get to sleep and woke up and was ready to go. But then I was trying to set the table for the three of us and thought about the silverware. Sometimes I use my mom’s silver that has to be polished, but I think those days are long gone. So I took out what I use every day and studied it. I don’t have enough matching pieces for three people! Isn’t that embarrassing? I had one place-setting of matching silverware and that was thanks to my silverware salesman I knew in Wash DC when I worked there after college. He liked me, but I had received a ring in the mail from my future husband. He was no dummy, tying me down like that when I’m clear across the country. I made it very clear to the silverware guy that I was a nice girl and had to be true to my intended. How things changed as the years went by and I grew up! So Teri and Cindy know the story about the silverware salesman, and we always wonder what my kids would be like if I’d married him instead of my husband. Would they be like my girls? Or would they be grubby little boys? Who knows? But we always remember the silverware salesman. I wonder if I can locate him on Google.