So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[LizzieMaine]

That amazes me. In the South, the very buckle of the Bible Belt, stores are open on Easter? And up here, in the least religious state in the union, everything but gas stations and movie theatres is locked up tight. Oooweee.

 

[dh66]

That amazes me. In the South, the very buckle of the Bible Belt, stores are open on Easter? And up here, in the least religious state in the union, everything but gas stations and movie theatres is locked up tight. Oooweee.

Crazy isn't it?
I can remember a time when it wasn't so, but I can also remember a time when walmart wasn't conveniently located in every neighborhood. They only give a **** about a buck, and since they've effectively driven all the local businesses out at this point, their only competition are the other big corporate stores, who figure every dollar wally is making is one they aren't.

 

[Bamaboots]

Only grocery chain closed around here today is Publix.

 

[Dennis Young]

That amazes me. In the South, the very buckle of the Bible Belt, stores are open on Easter? And up here, in the least religious state in the union, everything but gas stations and movie theatres is locked up tight. Oooweee.

Eh...the South has changed an awful lot in the past 25 or 30 years. Most stores, malls, supermarkets, etc are open today.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Crazy isn't it?
I can remember a time when it wasn't so, but I can also remember a time when walmart wasn't conveniently located in every neighborhood. They only give a **** about a buck, and since they've effectively driven all the local businesses out at this point, their only competition are the other big corporate stores, who figure every dollar wally is making is one they aren't.

Up until the '80s, we had blue laws here that prevented any store larger than a corner grocery from being open on Sundays, period. I actually miss those days. You *knew* nothing was going to be open on Sunday, and you planned your week accordingly.

 

[dh66]

Up until the '80s, we had blue laws here that prevented any store larger than a corner grocery from being open on Sundays, period. I actually miss those days. You *knew* nothing was going to be open on Sunday, and you planned your week accordingly.

That's about the same time they fell by the wayside down here, too. There are still a few municipalities that don't allow alcohol sales on Sunday, but even in those places it's only a short drive down the road to somewhere that the dollar reigns supreme.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meanwhile, our only local public Easter dinner for the poor and/or homeless is sponsored by the local synagogue. At least somebody's trying to live up to the spirit of the occasion.

 

[Bamaboots]

Up until the '80s, we had blue laws here that prevented any store larger than a corner grocery from being open on Sundays, period. I actually miss those days. You *knew* nothing was going to be open on Sunday, and you planned your week accordingly.

Same as there Lizzie, the municipality I went to work for in the early 80's, the fifth largest in the state, had some of the most stringent "blue laws" in the state. Essentially, nothing more than a convenience store open on Sunday. We were also purported to be the largest dry city in the country. The Chamber of Commerce proudly advertised it as such. That's why I commuted for two years.

 

[HudsonHawk]

That amazes me. In the South, the very buckle of the Bible Belt, stores are open on Easter? And up here, in the least religious state in the union, everything but gas stations and movie theatres is locked up tight. Oooweee.

Stores here are closed all day. They're open Christmas Day, but not Easter.

 

[Stearmen]

That amazes me. In the South, the very buckle of the Bible Belt, stores are open on Easter? And up here, in the least religious state in the union, everything but gas stations and movie theatres is locked up tight. Oooweee.

So basically, every one in your town gets the day off, but you have to work? Doesn't seem fair!

 

[LizzieMaine]

And that's the way it's been pretty much my entire life. We owned a gas station, I worked in radio stations, and now in a theatre. Except for the time I spent in the factory, I've never worked a regular 8-hour/5-day week/holidays off job. And even the factory had compulsory overtime.

I work every Thanksgiving and Christmas at the theatre, and will sometimes do everything myself, from selling tickets, to making popcorn, to running the show, to cleaning up, so the kids can have those days off.

 

[Fading Fast]

Meanwhile, our only local public Easter dinner for the poor and/or homeless is sponsored by the local synagogue. At least somebody's trying to live up to the spirit of the occasion.

I love stories like these - American Pluralism at its best. I know and don't ignore or downplay the problems we have in this country, but we also have some great things and a synagogue sponsoring an Easter dinner for the poor and / or homeless is a wonderful thing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They also put on a public Christmas dinner along the same lines.

 

[Fading Fast]

They also put on a public Christmas dinner along the same lines.

Wonderful.

In a slight echo of the same spirit, back when the Pope visited NYC ('08, I think), he spoke at a synagogue and gave a speech that was, at the time, hailed as helping to heal some of the rift that existed between the Jewish and Catholic faiths owing to many historical occurrences.

Of course, one speech can't to do all that, but even in this secular, jaded city, the Pope speaking at a synagogue got people's attention and, overall, good will. As a devout agnostic, but one who has great respect for religion, I was happy and impressed, and since it was close to where I live, made a point of seeing the Pope ride by on his way to the synagogue. (I figure if he can do all that, I can get up off my lazy keister and see him go by).

To this day, I get a good feeling when I see the plaque the synagogue has erected in honor of the event.

 

[jamespowers]

Something that ticks me off...it's become the trend of cigar makers now to use all kinds of elaborate wrappers and labels on their cigars. They're wrapped top to bottom in all kinds of crap. Only problem is, when I remove them, it peels some of the wrapper off with it. What's wrong with just the normal band?

Yeah that is a problem. I normally do not remove the labels until I have warmed the cigar from smoking it but if they are wrapped to close to the bottom, it can be a pain. Warming up the cigar helps in getting the label adhesive to let go. Oliva cigars are notorious for huge labels:

 

[LizzieMaine]

When did high school students start earning "high school degrees?" I didn't get any "degree" when I graduated, I got a diploma. I don't go around calling myself "LizzieMaine, H. S." It's not a "degree." It's a "diploma." All newspaper feature writers and education columnists, please copy.

 

[sheeplady]

When people comment on what is in your grocery cart in a negative, judgmental way.

I want to go to their houses and look through their cupboards for all their nasty little choices.

 

[W-D Forties]

I'm late to this thread, having been away for a while so apologies if this has already been mentioned, but my pet peeve is seeing any clothes post 1960 sold as 'vintage'. To my mind, that's strictly 'retro'. The amount of horrid 70's bri-nylon horrors and nasty 80's shell suits I see labelled as 'vintage' ! Maybe it's just my age...

 

[Fading Fast]

When did high school students start earning "high school degrees?" I didn't get any "degree" when I graduated, I got a diploma. I don't go around calling myself "LizzieMaine, H. S." It's not a "degree." It's a "diploma." All newspaper feature writers and education columnists, please copy.

Also, my God, when did graduating from middle school or even high school become an massive celebratory event? I didn't even go to the small ceremony my high school had and my family acknowledged the event with a pizza dinner - my Dad's view was if you can't graduate from high school, you have a problem (doing what you were supposed to was not an achievement in my family or in most of the families in my neighborhood). And my Dad didn't go to college - this attitude wasn't a snob thing. I really don't want to become a curmudgeon, but every little achievement doesn't need fireworks and a brass band. And to Lizzie's point - the title inflation of these events is just part of the same pathology.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I'm late to this thread, having been away for a while so apologies if this has already been mentioned, but my pet peeve is seeing any clothes post 1960 sold as 'vintage'. To my mind, that's strictly 'retro'. The amount of horrid 70's bri-nylon horrors and nasty 80's shell suits I see labelled as 'vintage' ! Maybe it's just my age...

Technically "vintage," as opposed to "antique," is anything more than twenty-five years old. So yes, even those horrid shell suits are now "vintage." :doh: