For the first time in a while, I bought a bottle of wine at Mom’s, along with some groceries. The cashier said “Can I check your ID for the wine?” I said, “Really?” She said, “It’s the rule.”

I thought I looked over 21, but I guess she just couldn’t be sure.

I have seen at some stores (not at Mom’s) a brand of flavored water called Liquid Death. Can someone tell me why that was the best name they could come up with?

I understand that it started as sort of a joke. Like “let’s do something with our water that isn’t rivers and pine trees.” The founders were, I have read, part of what is called the underground music scene, and that this name fit their cultural ID. Their tag line is “Murder Your Thirst”. Pretty pathetic, if you ask me.

Of course, neither you nor anyone else has asked me. Certainly not the architects of Liquid Death.

Have you tried it? I guess a few people have. Last year, Liquid Death sold $1.4 billion of water.

It reminds me of a restaurant that was located in South St. Louis County during my high school years called “Wilde’s House of Poisons”. I never ate there. Maybe no one did. It only lasted about two telephone books. Maybe if they had sold Liquid Death at the House of Poison, they would still be in business.

Today, I also came across a brand of foamy hand soap called Mrs. Meyers. I was intrigued by the bottle because it said that the scent was that of Iowa pine trees. Not knowing that Iowa pines have a particular scent, I thought that our next road trip should include the pine forests of Iowa.

Actually, I assumed that Mrs. Meyers must live in Iowa and was just being patriotic. But, no, Mrs. Meyers seems to make her soap in Wisconsin.

I also noted that, next year, this soap may no longer be available. It is marked as a “limited edition scent”. What does that mean? They’re running out of pine trees in Iowa? I am not sure.

But Mrs. Meyers has about a dozen other scents available for their foamy hand soap community.  Some, I understand.  But can someone tell me what Acorn Spice hand soap would smell in your bathroom? Or, how about Rain Water scented? Or Snowdrop?

At any rate, it was a busy day. Driving to Rockville, stopping at McDonalds for coffee, filling up the gas tank, my regular Wednesday leadership meeting for the Haberman Institute, a little sushi for lunch, stops at two groceries, a bakery, and a fish store. Setting the table for three dinner guests ( including old friends and former neighbors who tomorrow are moving into an assisted living facility) , picking up and driving the dinner guests home, watching half of the Nats game on TV, reading Thomas Mann’s novella Tristan, and a few things more. Like writing this post.