First, a [beautiful hot October] day in the life of The Pensioner… Started walking downtown. Got a call from Mr. Faaarwod (Aussie guy). Turned around toward home. Got ($220) outta the bank (I knew about that via text message. It was okay, I just figure I’ll get some cash from him if I need it). Got home, moved Lyme T. Lounge outta the driveway, made breakfast, received wood from Mr. Faaarwood, stacked wood, and and… Kayaked for “a few hours” (probably mostly floating around reading a book but that is a good thing). Finally, he took a walk over to Maple Village to check out the new stores there.

Maple Village has been under construction all summer but is continuing its evolution from a rather sad-looking plaza anchored by a KMart to an “upscale” shopping center. I have to say that the Plum Market was the first “upscale” tenant there. It replaced the old “Fox” (?) movie theatre. When it first opened up, a “business” reporter at the Ann Arbor Snooze wondered how well it would do, being that the surrounding neighborhood was not particularly “upscale”. Well. That neighborhood is MY neighborhood. The Plum is my go-to market for anything I can carry in my backpack. Yes, it’s expensive but I can afford it. Plus, I think that the reporter missed the fact that the Plum is close to a lot of “upscale” (McMansions anyone?) neighborhoods, often one stoplight away instead of three or five or seven.

Anyway, the Plum has been a going concern for more years than I am strong enough to count (2008?) and the now deserted KMart building is being replaced by Home Goods (eclectic cheap(?) knick knacks), Stein Mart (clothing?), and Sierra Trading Post. Sadly, Value World (an upscale thrift shop if you can imagine that) has been a casualty of the upscaling of Maple Village. If I ran the circus, I would’ve kept that store around, knowing how many “rich” folks shop there. But who am I? I have to say that I am glad that old-skool shopping center is being updated a bit although I’m not sure how many of those stores I will actively shop at. I mean, I am de-acquistioning “home stuff” and I buy my clothing exclusively on the internet and, well, maybe Sierra Trading Post? But I can get sun hats from there online…

I think that there will always be people who love to shop until they drop and so I think that bricks and mortar stores will be around for a while. I hope that these new “upscale” stores are successful. I’m not sure they will be in the long run but I won’t go there tonight.

So, way back when, I was a kid from the Yooperland and whenever we visited our cousins down here on the Planet Ann Arbor we drove up N. Maple (like I do *every* goddamn day now coming home from work or wherever) to get back to the freeway and we drove past, well, not KMart, it was the A&P then.

At the end of a “difficult” meeting today, the LSCHP (who was sitting next to me in a demon drop chair) suggested that I might have some marijuana somewhere in my cube. It was hilarious (of course I don’t) but it was that kind of meeting and he was thinking a long-time Planet Ann Arborite might have some ‘o that stuff. I was like WHAT? I reminded everyone that I was a Yooper and grew up with an outhouse (in the summer) and then I conceded that I have been living on the Planet Ann Arbor for a long time now and I raised my kids in this wonderful city and I do not mind when the LSCHP says stuff like that to me. Actually, it just totally cracks me up! But I don’t have any marijuana and he (and everyone else I work with) know that.

Love you all. KW

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.