The Soapbox Archives:
I had a rented tux for the wedding in Massachusetts, using a purple bowtie and vest to distinguish me from everyone else in a tux. For Indiana, I used my own tux that I bought 10 million years ago. Yes, it still fits. However, I didn't have the purple bowtie that I liked. Purple was our color theme.
With great reluctance, we walked into a Men's Warehouse store in Hobart, Indiana. We didn't have a satisfying experience at a similar store in Massachusetts. However, we needed the bowtie and there weren't many options in the area. We managed to talk to someone about getting a purple bowtie and the salesperson showed us a package with a reasonable-looking purple bowtie, necktie AND a vest. While the package was priced at $60,it was marked for clearance at $20. That was less than the rental for the bowtie itself! The vest was an extra-large which I was not expecting. The salesperson called over a seamstress who fitted the vest and then took the time to sew it up so I walked out equipped for the reception.
This highlighted two points:
Adding to the list of things not to say or do at a wedding:
As an addendum to last week's Soapbox, I wanted to mention something that happened at the bridal shop. They had several branches and I'll have to assume that the people at the different shops are going to behave differently, but we encountered one typical sales tactic that was not very nice.
Denyce found her dress at a certain store. The salesperson said that it was the last copy they had in the store and if she didn't buy the dress now and then, she might have to order it and that would take about 6 weeks. Alterations and fitting would take about a month, and that didn't include the cleaning so the timing would be tight. She decided to buy the dress because she really liked it and when I finally saw her in it at the wedding, I thought she made a great choice because she looked fabulous. However, she had gone back to the store to get some accessories after the purchase and saw the identical dress (in the same size!) on a manikin so she really hadn't needed to make that decision so quickly. While I understand what the sales people do and why they do it, it doesn't leave a great feeling about the shopping experience. I'm certainly not going to tell everyone to shop there, even though they probably will. The store probably doesn't expect to see the bride again any time soon so they have every incentive to push the dresses out the door before the shopper gets a chance to check out another store.
Make sure that everyone hired to work the event is dressed appropriately.We had hired the photographer who had worked at a relative's wedding where he did some incredible work. At our wedding, he showed up in a red plaid shirt. While he wasn't going be in the pictures he took, he ended up in everyone else's pictures, especially when he was taking pictures or composing pictures of us. Now he became the focus of everyone's pictures. "Who's that guy in the plaid shirt?". The guests should be focusing on the newlyweds, not the guy taking the pictures.
At some point, I had commented that people who want to manage cities and towns should spend some time "playing" Sim City (one of it's many variations) so they could get some insight into the results of various government decisions regarding property taxes, transportation/roads, and zoning laws. While every city and town is different, every mayor or town manager has to be aware of how happy and health their home town is going to be depending on their actions.
Somewhat recently, the town of Belmont has been repaving Belmont Street and Trapelo Road west of School Street and east of the Belmont Star Market. One of the "innovations they put in were islands in the middle of the road. They're about 20 feet long and drive traffic into one lane, though the road is two lanes between the islands. This has cars changing lanes constantly. Having continuous yellow lines would keep drivers from switching back and forth.
I suppose, since Belmont is primarily a residental town with little commercial property and practically no industrial aeras, the town wants people to slow down and to reduce traffic. They've made it more uncomfortable for busy people to drive on that road.
My neighbor, who's going through radiation for cancer, fell down this morning and couldn't get up. The downstairs neighbor heard her fall and called 911. A firetruck, an ambulance, and a police car showed up to help her and take her to the hospital. I thanked the firetruck driver for showing up.
The driver apologized for taking so long to get there because those new traffic islands on Belmont Street and Trapelo Road caused a serious backup on those road and it took them much longer to get to the house. I wonder what happens when the MBTA bus #73 makes its scheduled stops along that now single-lane road?
Thanks, Belmont.