I haven’t walked so much in a very long time. I’m ready to give my legs a rest and happy to settle into a day of beading and giving the cat attention now that I’m back home. It’s amazing how much I miss both after several days of being away. Of course, the beads are portable, whereas the cat isn’t. In general, cats don’t like change and do not travel well, and Peekaboo is no exception. She is the kind of cat that disappears to one of her many hiding places if the doorbell rings. But I digress…back to tales of my trek along the Magnificent Mile. The wind coming off Lake Michigan was brisk making it cold enough to bundle up and wear gloves. Spring fashions may have been in the stores, but they certainly were not seen on the street. I darted in and out of various shopping emporiums to keep warm as well as to view their seasonal offerings. I did see a lot of bright colors, particularly shades of green. There is one trend I did find particularly distracting and it has nothing to do with fashion. Perhaps it’s a function of age, but I find noise pollution to be extremely annoying. Almost every store assaults one with (what I consider to be) awful music played annoyingly loud. Bloomingdale’s and Saks had a special event going on in the cosmetics department with Disc Jockeys spinning tunes at an ear shattering level making it almost impossible to carry on conversations with sales associates. Honestly, it was like being in Studio 54 back in the eighties! I know that music is subliminally supposed to encourage one to shop and spend money, but what I heard made me want to exit the store as fast as my legs could carry me! In contrast, the music that I did truly enjoy was at a concert Saturday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music where “Trio Brasileiro” played sweet chords to a Latin beat with just guitar, mandolin and pandeiro percussion. As I listened I realized that instead of spending money on merchandise, this music induced a craving for Tapas and being the “foodie” that I am, that’s not at all bad!
