A Rave and a Rant!

My husband and I went out of town for a few days and on the whole had a very good time.  We discovered new shops and new restaurants in a place where we have been going for years.  It was such fun to make new discoveries in an old familiar place.

First, the Rave. 

I always go to Barnes & Noble when we visit this city.  It is my happy place.  Books, Vanilla Cappuccino, music, bathrooms, cafe...I could live there.  I have a member rewards card which I use to get discounts on my purchases including my vanilla cappacinos.  I was standing in the line to get my favorite delicious drink behind a woman who was also ordering.  The clerk asked her if she had a rewards card, she said no.  I pulled mine out and said, "use mine."  The clerk took it and told the woman she would get a discount on her order using my card.  The woman looked surprised and turned to me and thanked me.  This is something I do fairly often just as a small kindness to someone else.  I thought nothing more about it and sat down at a table with my drink and books.  A few minutes later, the clerk came up to me and set a plate with 2 large cookies on it in front of me.  I explained that I had not ordered them but she smiled and said that the woman I had let use my card ordered them for me as a thank you.  What a thoughtful gift on a Thursday afternoon.

Now, my Rant.

My husband and I were driving on our way home from our mini vacation and stopped at a traffic light.  I looked at a house next to the road and saw that the resident had hung an American flag on the front porch.  It had the blue field with white stars and white stripes but in place of the red stripes were images of AR15 rifles in red.  I was shocked to say the least.  Let me start by saying that I believe in the Consitution and the right of free speech but that, to me, was an insult to a symbol of this great country.  With all the mass shootings that have been happening and it seems the AR15 has turned out to be the gun of choice, how could anyone display such a thing and in such a context as the American Flag!  This desecration of an American symbol is, in my opinion, unpatriotic, insulting and shameful.  It was an upsetting end to a very good mini vacation.