9:56 P.M.
I fell asleep late last night and woke up early again.
My parents woke me up early so we could go out to breakfast. My dad mentioned that it would be one of the last times we all get together because when I move out, I probably won�t want to drive all the way to their house to eat breakfast.
I can�t argue. He was probably right.
I got ready to go out and turned the television on. My VCR had been playing the movie, �The Truth About Cats and Dogs� in a rotation last night while I slept.
I listened to the dialogue of the movie as I got myself together.
Uma Thurman said, �Buttons, sew on buttons.�
Just after a dull moment in a conversation where a guy had sighed, �So�� They way that one does when a conversation lags.
I smiled and thought, �wow, it�s been a long time since conversation has lagged enough to say, �So�.��
After we were all ready, we pilled into the car and headed to the local breakfast joint.
They always have great food and it�s safe to order the same thing every week because you know they won�t screw it up.
As I was eating, I noticed a consignment shop next to the restaurant. It was the same consignment shop Troy had told me abut a few months back. He got a big comfy chair at that place. It resembled the oversized chair from, �Alice In Wonderland�.
I love that char.
So after lunch we ventured over to the consignment shop.
Walking through the parking lot of the building I noticed that all of the cars were 1970 models and older. It was as if I had taken a trip back in time, to when I was a kid. I saw a lot more of those cars as a kid, and these days most of the cars are much nicer.
We walked through the automatic doors to hear a doorbell go off to alert the store attendant that customers had arrived. I walked straight back to the furniture section and had to hold my nose at first. The place smelled like an old dingy attic. The room stank of mildew, moth balls and dust.
The smell was enough to keep most people away.
There were screaming kids, and elderly seniors in every isle of the clothing department trying to find the best 2-dollar steals.
I made my way over to their direction to find that there was more furniture to check out under each and every rounder of clothes. This place was a gold mine. I found so many unique antiques around every corner.
They actually had quite a great selection.
After spending about ten minutes in the place I decided to find my mom to let her know that I�d come back later when I had more money.
That place was like a maze. I couldn�t find my parents anywhere.
I ventured back to the original furniture area and saw my mom standing in a corner admiring a king size bed set.
As I was walking over I saw this woman sitting on a toilet seat located dead center of the room. She had a cedar drawer in her lap that she had taken out of the dresser next to her. She poured in a trash bag full of buttons of every shape and size. There were coat buttons, shirt buttons, buttons from old jeans, and even the antique ones that no one sees anymore.
She started to separate them into piles of what looked like 10 buttons and sat them aside.
Once she accumulated a large number of buttons in each pile she�d pick them up and dump them back into the drawer.
I watched her do this for about 5 minutes trying not to be obvious.
Each time I glanced over in her direction, I also scanned the room to see if anyone noticed her, or noticed me watching her.
I thought to myself, �I hope my life never resorts to this.�
I can�t imagine spending a Saturday counting buttons, just to put them all away and do it again next weekend. At the rate she was going she will probably be counting buttons for an eternity�
