Paid !

The God of my understanding decreed by surprise that last night should be payday and not Monday morning. Last night was Friday. What a stunning surprise! Today at noon I shifted into my shopping frenzy mode. Since my budget is a stretcher for a sick economy, I decided to feed at the Linden Discount Market which is a dollar and produce store run by a couple outlanders I can’t identify and a girl named Hegira (journey) whom I can. I think she is Iranian of Mexican descent. Or Mexican of….well…. She talks nice to me and teaches me Spanish words. I frenzied thusly:

-Six bars of perfumed soap (a buck) made in Thailand for a firm in the United Arab Emirates. Which means it’s likely not to contain pork fat.

- A four ounce bottle of Zmygz aftershave which is made in China by Pujiang Onlyou Cosmetics Co., Ltd. And smells like a cross between Aqua Velva and a tired Hongsan steel mill at five o’clock on a Friday afternoon. With a little imagination it could be a cousin of Fahrenheit 451. This company also makes Vigour for men.

- two peach scented candles from Betty Crocker USA

- a jar of Five Spice powder for Chinese cooking this winter

- various trash bags (droll but invaluable)

- a bottle of Memphis Master Barbeque sauce which I know I can fix with spices if it turns out to be nasty.

- two boxed Thai Kitchen dinners of noodles vegetables and peanut sauce which I highly recommend to anybody, I have eaten them before. You can also get them at Kroger’s for more money.

- a winning two dollar lottery ticket.

- Sharp (brand) wristwatch from the scratch and dent department, but it looks and works fine, guys!

I imbibed later at my favorite four-star Chickenaria with a high tea of 7 boneless wings (chicken breast chunks but don’t tell anybody), slaw and sweet tea. Now I am sitting here smelling like a steel foundry and making plans to go out tomorrow to buy REAL groceries and pay REAL bills.

Hell! I know I’m poor guys! But I gave up long ago lusting for everything that everybody else owned and just being grateful for what I’ve got. It was one hell of a shopping spree for about twenty dollars and I’ll do it again next month. Ta!