And then we stopped by Borders for an Italian soda

Lately, I've been turning into a book rat. Even though my current reading list could be converted into an effective book fort, when I am in a B&N, the idea that I could lose my last great haunt of caffeine and guided daydreaming ensures that I peel another book off the shelf and add it to the pile. I miss Borders, which always had a better feel and seemed to carry itself more like a well-put-together, intelligent friend than B&N ever did. Not to mention, more than one bookstore didn't carry with it that apocalyptic, fin-de-siècle vibe that the One Last Remaining Chain Bookstore assumes by default (and shabbiness).

Today I realized that it wasn't only books that could induce that feeling. Sears succeeded in convincing me to but a moose toothbrush holder because I felt sorry for the store itself. It's never been my favorite place to shop because what it sells, the overarching theme of Sears, is handy families with trim lawns and a big-screen reality tv addiction. Or, when I was younger, yard work = family. This isn't me. I'm a hide in my bedroom and read kind of girl. The dogs and the birds tend to get my backyard veggies (although The Pumpkin King does pretty well with the mint & basil). Sears doesn't attract my attention except that it is familiar and, like Service Merchandise, a place through which I will always, in some corner of my mind, be trailing my parents as we spend part of another weeknight walking around the Brazos Mall.

Therefore, when The Pumpkin King manages to break the toothbrush holder and I, being freakishly picky about such things, am in the mall looking for a circular metal and glass holder without an enclosed cylinder and find a single moose holder on sale in the far corner of Sears, tucked away from the giant Kardashian Bath display, I am unable to resist adding it to our bathroom decor, even if it doesn't precisely go with beachy, seashell decor. Sandy the Beached Moose is a solid totem for those things I miss and for the unexpected things that wander through your life...although, really, I'm just happy to have a toothbrush holder that's easy to clean. Especially giving the reading I need to catch up on.