The Wall Street Journal

Not the Bead Journal...

I was recently gifted with a subscription to the Wall Street Journal (Thanks, Bro!) in conjunction with my recent academic promotion. (Thanks, again!) It certainly has been an interesting few weeks to read this paper. A few observations follow:

1. I am not as dumb as I look. I am amazed at how much I can understand in the Wall Street Journal. And this is without ever having taken Econ 101! I take it as proof that the old brain is still functioning, very good news. How much of what I've read do I remember? That wasn't the question.

2. My new glasses really are that great! And I mean the bifocal part. The WSJ is printed in a considerably smaller font than our local paper and I am having no trouble reading it. I attribute the difference in font size to the difference in audience (draw your own conclusions) and the difference in amount of information each paper wants to share (again, draw your own conclusions). As far as the glasses go, I told my ophthalmologist that I did a lot of needlework, and since my arms were fairly short that I was holding it closer to my face than the average reading distance. He made the appropriate modification in my prescription. Now I can see!

3. There have been two WSJ articles recently about Bloomington, Indiana, where some of my favorite people live. The first was about the number of Eastern prep school students enrolling at IU. Apparently it can be a culture shock. I understand that. Bloomington is not Ann Arbor or Madison or even Northfield, Minnesota. But it's a very nice town. The second article was about Bloomington as a great retirement location. That sounds good, too, especially with some of my favorite people on the local entertainment committee. The article, however, did not mention the major drawback to Bloomington as a retirement location. That is the lack of a fabric store that sells good quality fashion fabric--the fabric you use to make clothing. Every town needs a store like that. Or two. And a really good bead store.

4. What's with all the ads for fancy men's shoes? Or maybe I should say fancy shoes for men. Sneakers, Rockports, even Birkenstocks, these are manly shoes in the Midwest. Who buys Belgian shoes? Besides Belgians. Maybe I should check out the website.

5. There are no ads for high-heeled, peep-toe pumps. Is that a political statement? A feminist statement? A fashion statement? Or has the Wall Street Journal been taken over by a group of activist podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons? One wonders...

6. And in some of the latest news, well hidden on a back page, information that a hockey fan can subscribe to live streaming NHL action. $169 per season.

And now back to our regularly scheduled beading.