Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Fabric Store a Misnomer

I went to Wichita tonight to go to a fabric store. I did this because, not surprisingly, I wanted to buy some fabric for a skirt. And there is no fabric store in Hutchinson anymore. There's not one in Wichita either, in the sense of there being a store where you would go to purchase cloth off of bolts.

Fabric stores no longer sell fabric. As best I can tell they mostly sell scrapbooking supplies, which I have begun to think of as a scourge because they keep taking up shelf space where things I want to buy used to be. Everyone from Wal-mart to unique boutiques have the de rigeur scrapbooking section. Okay, I like the funky scissors. I have them all. I'm over it. Surely practically everyone on the planet who wants them has the funky scissors now. Please, stop. I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of paisley printed origami in waiting.

As I wandered the aisles of the fabric stores - past the garden knick knacks, the plain wooden birdhouses begging for craft paint, and other assorted goods that had nothing to do with fabric, I was struck by the similarities of fabric stores to book stores.

Why, you may ask? Because, book stores no longer sell books. Have you noticed that? They sell DVDs, coffee and keychains.

I don't buy DVDs and I don't buy scrapbooking supplies, but I think it's just wonderful for other people to do so. However, could you clue me in before I drive an hour? If you called it a "scrapbooking store" or a "DVD store" then I'd know it wasn't of interest to me. But when you call it a fabric store or a book store I expect you to vend those products.

I'm silly that way.
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Road of Life



We often talk about life as a journey. It's a time tested metaphor.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. In Kansas we have lots of very straight roads, with a vanishing point on the horizon that seems like a straight shot. But, even those roads are full of bumps. And ruts.

Why is it so easy to get into a rut? The more you sink into it, the less you can move side to side, and the less chance you have of ever getting out of it. There's some comfort in the rut. You know what to expect, and you can judge it safe because it's where many before you have traveled, and where you seem destined to go.

When you do make a break for the high road beside the rut, it's a bumpy ride. There may be some slips and sides back into the rut, and you're messing with it for the other folks who have been your traveling companions there. You may be creating new paths out of the rut but you can also be smashing down the edges in places, making the rut even more restrictive.

It can take awhile to get on solid ground, where things are smooth again. Then, what happens, unless you keep seeking new ground? You make a new rut.

This seems to be one of the cycles of life, metaphor or not. I guess the trick is how to figure out when you're in a rut and when you're just content. They sound very different, don't they? Yet, it seems they would share many similarities.

I hope you didn't expect me to have an answer. I just have questions. Always questions.
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Subscribe for free to Patsy's Ponderings in email or your choice of a reader.

Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, cooking and more. Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social media sites of your choosing.

All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.