Monday, November 27, 2006

nautical nonsense (on land).

Solidifying my descent into oldladyhood, I now basically only take the local bus to and fro work. Although this method is sometimes slower than the subway, it is both closer to my apartment and a lot more scenic. The main street that the bus takes is a hotbed of activity, so I always have something interesting to watch. Hoards of teens acting like imbeciles on the sidewalk. The flashing lights of the fifty 99 cents stores that are lined up next to each other (shouldn't one of them drop to 98 cents to blow away the rest of the competition?). This extremely odd restaurant/bar/bakery that has chairs and baskets hanging from its awning and a pirate statue standing guard out front.

But during one ride home I happened to find something tiny that completely topped all the rest of this hoopla. I happened to be gazing out the bus window into a clothing store and saw a familiar flash of yellow. Is that Spongebob Squarepants? I asked myself. Nah. What would spongebob be doing in a men’s clothing store? I looked closer, and indeed – there was the porous little creature, emblazoned on a blue button-down fleece.

Now don’t get me wrong – I was a big fan of SBSP (nickname basis with him, that’s right) back in college. The krabby patties, his pet snail, Gary, who meowed like a cat, the little whiney sound SBSP’s nose made while he slept– I loved it all. Granted I was drunk/hungover most of the time during the viewing marathons my roommate and I had, but it was highly highly entertaining stuff, and if I were a parent right now (big laugh) I’d certainly encourage my kids to watch the show (and the movie, since kids can never be too young to start up their appreciation for David Hasselhoff) and have my husband dress up as Spongebob for their birthday parties.

But back to the point. A Spongebob fleece in a men’s clothing store. And not just any men’s clothing store – one that is also home to a leather Scarface jacket and a neon pink Baby Phat sign. What on earth is it doing there? and in the front window, on a mannequin, no less.

In the days since my first sighting, they have moved the fleece from the mannequin to a different, less prominent, part of the display - my guess is the rapid decline down the street cred ladder that SBSP could be causing - but I am still absolutely transfixed with the damn thing. The store has a help wanted sign in its window, and i just might have to take a second job just so i can see who purchases this crazy fleece. stay tuned.

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