As this blog was leaving the hotel Saturday in Sacramento, on a mission to find cough drops and regain the ability to swallow, it overheard two men talking about how something was "a sign of where society is headed."
You can't go a day without hearing one of these conversations, and, "Nowhere good," is usually the consensus. (For whatever reason, people rarely pause to discuss the virtues of society, how cool it is that we have freedom of religion, or that women are allowed to vote, or that snow cones rule.)
So in an effort to keep you, the reader, informed of just how far down our society has gone, we begin an ongoing series dedicated entirely to that topic.
Last week I wrote about Coach Richard, a 77-year-old man who has given his free time to sports teams at Clovis West for 16 years. Coach Richard also lives with a woman he met at a senior center dance 25 years ago, and never married, he says, because they didn't want to complicate their retirement accounts.
Here is an excerpt from a reader's e-mail in response ...
"I'm not on your case, but sure wish you would not print such articles in the Fresno Bee because it just sends the wrong message. The message is: It's ok to live with someone and not be married. The real tragedy of this is that the students look up to a man that is showing a bad moral life. We want to know why we have so many problems with our young people. It's simple. All they see on TV and the movies and now from the press, is, it's ok to live with someone and not be married, and writers like you just are adding to the fuel."
Honestly, did not envision anyone taking that message away from the column, but OK. Clearly, another sign of the times.
There's more. In Walgreens now, they lock up the razors and shaving cream and men's hair-coloring products, so you have to get an employee with a key just to buy replacements for your Mach 9 -- or however many blades they're up to now. When asked about this, a young female employee said with a matter-of-fact voice, "Cause people be stealin' it."
Well put. One brand of replacement blades now costs $22 for eight blades, which still doesn't explain where people are selling these things. Is there a black market for replacement razor blades? Or are they just stealing for personal use?
Just another sign of how far in the tank our society is, though you can decide if we're talking about the fact that Walgreens has to lock up razor blades, or that they cost so much they're worth stealing.
I had my first cranky old man moment a few weeks ago at my local Albertsons. While they don't lock up their razor blades, they'd completely discontinued carrying the blades to my razor. All they had were those bright orange packages for the new 5 bladed razors. Ugh.
With how quickly mine went obsolete, I suggest buying a lifetime supply when you buy your razor. They'll discontinue the orange ones by next Tuesday.