Hey Mambo!

I usually try to avoid going to Central Market on the weekends. Especially if I need anything from the butcher or fishmonger. It's a beating when the store is crowded. But sometimes, like this week, my schedule dictates that the only time I can go is on Saturday. I have found that if you get there before about 9:30, it isn't too bad, and that was the case this morning. Not crowded at all. So, I got my coffee and enjoyed my shopping. My only complaint about CM is that for some reason, they put the meat and fish near the beginning of the path. I think it should be at the end. Today I had to get chicken and shrimp, so I felt like I had to hurry through the rest of the store. I got to go through Mambo's line today. He is my favorite checker. He is from Africa and he is very nice, plus his name is Mambo. I think that is cool. He always makes me think of the "Hey Mambo" scene from Big Night. I am very curious to know Mambo's back-story. He seems kind of sad. I always help him bag the groceries. I like doing it. I think maybe if I had a past life, I might have been a bag-boy, because I am good at it. Mambo isn't so good at it. He mixes things that shouldn't be mixed.

The other night I watched a show about this wacky American Explorer guy who decides he is going to canoe the length of the Limpopo River in southern Africa because of a Rudyard Kipling story he read when he was a kid, and because he likes saying the word "Limpopo." So he hires a guy from Zimbabwe named Bonus to be his guide/translator, and they set off, but since the American guy fears the summer heat and malaria, they go in winter, which is the dry season. So they end up having to walk and carry the canoe a lot because the river is dried up in many places. They get to see cool stuff like hippos and rhinos, giraffes, elephants, crocodiles, and lots of cool birds. But they are pretty beaten down. I learned that in Africa, some people eat stew made from chicken heads and feet. The stew is called "Scratchin' and Talkin'". At the end, Bonus gets to finally see the ocean for the first time in his life. That part was good.

Today I learned from my bi-lingual shampoo bottle that the Spanish word for "daily" is "diaria." How do you think Peggy Hill would pronounce that word? (Uh-huh-huh.)

On the way to CM, KERA taught me about a film they used to show in elementary schools in the 1950's to promote science. I will paraphrase the script for you:

A typical 50's family is camping.
Son: (looking up at the stars) I am going to learn about science. I am going to go to the moon. My sister doesn't have to learn science. When she grows up, she will hook a guy.
Daughter: What's wrong with that?
Mother: Nothing, dear. You don't need science to be a home-maker.
Father: But what if Mr. Right doesn't come along right away? If she learns science, she could be a dental hygeinist or a nurse!

Oh, the lofty ideas of the 50's!

Enjoy the weekend.