This headline is coming about 15 years too late to help my wallet ....

From CNBC....

Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale and American Eagle Outfitters have fallen out of fashion with fickle U.S. teen shoppers and may not win back their business anytime soon.

The retailers, known as the "3 A's," have long been popular for their cool basics like jeans, hoodies and t-shirts. But young shoppers are now less interested in their logo-centric clothes and more eager to shop for electronics or go to low-cost, fast-fashion chains like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M that offer greater variety more quickly.

They certainly cost me, and other breadwinners like me, a few bucks... But probably not as badly as I want to remember it. Knowing their Mom like I do, I'm sure they heard "no" at least twice as often as "yes".

I guess every generation of parents gets the privilege of financing some fad of their offspring.
 

The Creed at Lunch

Yesterday I stood on the sidewalk in downtown Minneapolis. Just paused for a minute after lunch to watch the crowds pass by outside Target.

I realized my ipod was in my pocket. I turned it on and for some strange reason felt compelled to listen to The Apostles Creed three or four times. You see people differently when you look in their eyes while hearing the words....

Like the hobo...
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,

And the hobo's buddy, with the bandaged hand...
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. 

The baby in the stroller
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;

The giggling girls
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

The business man
I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

The cop
the holy Catholic Church, 

the bus driver
the communion of saints, 

the little kids
the forgiveness of sins, 

the woman in the wheelchair
the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

and me
Amen.

Lusting after wrinkles and superheroes

We all understand that propensity for young couples in love to hold hands. It's normal, natural. It's even somewhat acceptable for them, at a certain age, to fawn over each other. Even tough guys can be coerced into baby talk and will respond to a silly or syrupy pet name from that special girl. It get it. We all do it at some point. It's part weird, part sweet, and it's part of the glue that keeps the world together and helps assure the survival of the species. But you do get to a time in life when this stuff seems a little creepy. 

From Philadelphia to Chicago yesterday I was smack dab in the middle of the creep show. Two people in their fifties who cant keep their hands off each other, all the way from Philadelphia to Chicago. Fortunately I slept some. But when I wasn't.... he's rubbing her leg, she's stroking the hair on the back of his neck, or on his arms, or playing with his whiskers. They squeeze and they hug and they kiss, along with whispers of some cutesy little banter back and forth. While he seemed to tire of it after a while, I don't think her hands were off him the whole flight. They certainly didn't notice me or any of the other passengers around them. They werent newlyweds, their wedding rings were too old. Just too old people who have tumbled into a teenage infatuation. And oblivious to the stares from the real world.

Had it not been for this episode, the Chicago to Minneapolis flight would have stood out more, for it was a bit odd as well. The guy behind me struck up a conversation with a stranger across the aisle about superheroes. This was a grown man, late 30's, early 40's. Starts out talking about his ex-wife and kids but soon he launched into fantasy land. Before we hit the tarmac the two had covered Superman, Batman (who is not really a superhero), Green Hornet (ditto),  The Torch, The Flash, the whole Justice League and the Avengers, Star Trek characters, you name it.

Would have gladly taken comic book guy for the whole flight and left the creepy lovers to someone else.