Thanksgiving and the folly of profligate consumerism

I didn't expect my jaw to drop today when I ran out for a quick trip to the store to return an unneeded item. But drop, it did, when I parked at the shopping center and saw a line of tents set up in front of Best Buy. Today is Wednesday, two days before Black Friday, and a day before Thanksgiving.

I wasn't even ashamed to stride up and snap this photo in front of the crowds of shoppers already shuffling in and out of the stores. I felt a wave of nausea as I turned away from taking the photo to hear a family next to me bribing their child with candy. It was as if every disgusting stereotype of American consumerism was happening right then and there in the worst way. And it's not even Black Friday yet.

The Power of Kindness and a Very Small Instrument

In Nome, I learned to swing dance. In Sitka, I learned to play the ukulele. I guess I like to take up completely irrelevant skills whenever I go to a new place. I think it's becoming my new thing. In both cases though, these opportunities were afforded to me by incredibly generous people in incredibly serendipitous situations, so I wanted to take some time to pay my respects to my ukulele guru from this summer.

Her name is Jeannie and she's a little fireball of energy. With her signature buzz-cut hair, baggy overalls she wears all the time and contagious smile, she's hard to miss. And indeed, she has made a lasting impression on me and the entire town of Sitka.