Some firemen were in line behind me at Safeway today. I got all twittery in the facial region and couldn’t look at them directly. Firemen!
Firefighting is the last job to retain its mystique, now that we’ve got doctors and policemen and the President knocked off their respective pedestals. I mean, doctors get malpractice suits, cops sometimes shoot BART passengers, and Presidents, well…But firemen, what can they do wrong? Maybe they’re grabbing the family silver as they’re carrying your grandma out of her burning house, but if so, they keep it pretty quiet.
It was exciting to be so close to three of them and I cheerfully eavesdropped. One of them had spotted the cover of this month’s Martha Stewart magazine — a Halloween theme — and they began discussing the shameless habit retailers have of pimping holidays far in advance. “There are Christmas decorations up at Walmart already,” one of them said, shaking his head. “It’s gone too far.”
You hear that, Walmart? Take ’em down. Take those Christmas lights down.
Also, I try not to judge people by their grocery selections, but these guys did have exceptionally nice food. Lots of fresh veggies and whole wheat bread. It warmed my heart a little.