Zac-Mania, Sausage Sandwiches and Facebook

Saturday Snippets

I arose early today, went over to work for about an hour (wrapping up some time-sensitive stuff I didn’t get to on a particularly busy Friday), and then stopped at two places on my way home:

The local grocery store (as in, the only local one left), where the owner himself cashed me out with my coffee beans and newspapers, remarked amiably about the balmy weather we’re finally experiencing, and gave first-name greetings to pass along to my husband. (Oh, Small Town America—do not leave us! Our souls need the intimate cordially of your communities!)

My second stop was McDonald’s—I know, so corporate—where I bought 4 Sausage McMuffins off the Dollar Menu. With Will gone earlier this week, I treated the kids to breakfast sandwiches at the fast-food empire outpost which Vi used to call “Old MacDonald’s”; Ben and Pearl’s version is “Uncle Donald’s” (they have a relative by that name). On Tuesday, I had ordered the sausage sandwiches for the youngsters and an Egg McMuffin for myself. In the process, I discovered that the sausage variety was 1/3 the price of my egg favorite. So today, I shrewdly ordered the cheap kind, then resolved to fry up my own egg—breakfast sandwich bliss on a budget! Arriving home, I waltzed into the kitchen and chirped about my bargain purchases. “These McDonald’s sausage sandwiches are only a dollar,” I enthused to Will, who replied: “Yeah, but then you have to eat ’em.” (Health-minded spoil-sport!)

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This is my final Facebook fast day (a deal I made with Vi during TV Turnoff Week). It’s been difficult to stay away from the steady stream of friendly greetings, witty 1-liners, and other interesting tidbits posted by friends and acquaintances in that virtual wonderland. I’ve especially missed playing online Scrabble. When life presents problems and other unpleasantness, Facebook feels like an oxygen mask of rejuvenation; it’s an oasis. Or, sociologists are saying, more like a mirage. It looks like real refreshment, but it’s deceitfully illusory. No one has bad breath on Facebook, this recent CNN Health article points out. I hope the 7 days away have snapped me out of my borderline addiction to the site. My next challenge will be total screen-media abstention for a full week—craziness! Baby steps, baby steps…..

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Last bit: My BFF and I went to the movies together last night—we saw 17 Again. Maybe it was the novelty of a night out sans kids. Maybe it was the fun of being with Jean, who lives across the Atlantic, who I don’t get to see as often as I’d like. Maybe it was momentary Zac-mania (gosh, what a beautiful boy). I know it wasn’t a truly good flick (I’ve heard valid complaints that it’s a poor amalgamation of It’s a Wonderful Life, Back to the Future, and Big), but I enjoyed it immensely—it made me feel…well, not 17 again, but close. (And how about that passionate pro-abstinence speech in the middle of the movie? Preach it, Z!)