MAKE WAY FOR DUCKS!

There was an amusing "Shouts and Murmurs" in the latest New Yorker about the guttering candles of our aging memories. Thank God for Professor Google and his trusty side-kick Wiki-pedia.  More and more often these days I'll be having a conversation with one of my house-mates and we'll be referring to someone or something whose name has slipped the bonds of memory.  "You know---that movie with William Hurt, Glenn Close and that tall goofy guy with the glasses who was in the remake of "The Fly.  It had a killer sound-track.  What the hell was that movie called...  They were all gathered for the funeral of one of their college buddies." We agree that we remember the movie and it was seminal to our cultural zeitgeist of the mid-eighties.  We just can't quite put our finger on the title.  Some minutes later, one of us will yell out to the household in general:  "THE BIG CHILL!!!"  Was it memory?  or was it Google.  More and more these days, I'm afraid it's Google.  I once lost Burt Lancaster's name for over a year...

This morning I was on the sidewalk in Mill Valley and I was looking in the window of a notions/gift store.  Arrayed in the window was a collection of wonderful ducks that had been decorated with all kinds of found objects.  A short bio with picture tells of a local grade school girl who makes these wonderful tchotchkes from stuff she finds and glues to old duck decoys.  Some of them are quite fanciful and some quite beautiful.  I noticed one that had an artificial plumeria on either side of the duck's head serving as ears.  I went in to inquire.  "They're between $ 20 and $40, depending on the amount of detail.  All the proceeds go to the Humane Society. All of you on my gift list:  MAKE WAY FOR DUCKS!!!

The plumeria flower ears reminded me of something that happened to me yesterday.  Bunny and I were shopping for her niece.  Sheryl had a Macy's gift card and she wanted to buy something called a wristlet, (a clutch purse with wrist strap) which, apparently, is something the younger set are using to house their smart phones in the brief time-outs between texting bouts.  We found a nice perky striped jobby for only $26.  Bunny attributed it to me having superb "shopping karma".  I was just glad to be of service and to get us out of there as quickly as possible.  I was treated to an authentic Mexican lunch at a little joint on Merrydale, near Nicole's place.  As I was leaving the restaurant I noticed two middle aged black women having lunch.  One had a plumeria in her hair; the exact same kind we had growing in our yard back in Hawaii.  It could tell it was not the Tahitian style plumeria which is a bit prettier but has no smell.  It was the Hawaiian kind with a lovely flowery aroma.  My brother and I had to rake them up every weekend by the thousands as part of our yard work.  We also made leis out of them on those rare occasions when we had a date. It was a great strategy to get close.  "Mind if I get a sniff of your plumeria lei?  Mmmm, it sure smells good on you!"

So I went up to the lady with the plumeria in her hair and gave her a compliment.  I mentioned the bit above and how we loved the smell of the real Hawaiian plumerias.  "Well, thank you!  But I hate to tell you...this flower is a fake."  I told this story to the folks at the store with the ducks.  They laughed appreciatively then insinuated that either I fork over for a duck, or three, or else vacate the premises.  I may have to go back tomorrow and make a purchase before they're all gone.  After all, who can resist a story where a young grade-schooler comes up with a novel recycling idea whose proceeds go to the Humane Society?  With plumerias for ears, no less...  So those of you on the gift list, you have been forewarned:  MAKE WAY FOR DUCKS!

L&K, Mickey da Mayor of Happy Acres