First thing this morning, I put on a long-sleeved tee and jeans and went to TJ's. The shirt has the Teamsters logo embroidered over the left breast.

The checker at TJ's asked me, Teamsters, what's that? I told her it was the union I belong to. Union? What for? I explained that I work in transportation and that the Teamsters are our union. What does that mean, she continued.

I realized that she had no idea whatsoever what a union is and what it does. So I explained very briefly (I was in line having my groceries checked out, remember) that when there are issues (e.g., wages, working hours) to be resolved, the union represents the employees (who singly have no power at all, but united have a strong voice), just as management has corporate behind them in their decisions.

She looked astonished, said she didn't belong to a union, then nodded and said it made sense. The store manager was giving me the eye from his desk just behind me, but didn't interfere and didn't say anything.

Can you believe that her knowledge of U.S. history is so nonexistent, and her knowledge of the worldwide power struggles of the working class so scanty, that she didn't even know what a union is? Not to mention the fact that these things impact her own working situation. I'm dumbfounded.

Then I went to the Salvation Army, to see if I could score a nice warm sweater. I found a lightweight Coldwater Creek jacket, never worn, fit perfectly, for only $4! I looked in the catalog and that same jacket goes for $74.99. That was so amazing, that I checked for polo shirts for Norm and found 3 of them for $3.75 each (30% off today), one of them a Ralph Lauren.

Never let it be said that all Salvation Army clothes are dowdy.

I came home to find that the gardeners who mow my lawn every couple of weeks (for a very minimal fee) had gone above and beyond and trimmed the roses, weeded around them, and cut back the suckers from the olive tree. Sorry I missed them; I like to give them a bit extra this time of year or when they do something out of the ordinary. I'll give it to them next time.

Plus, nobody told J that today is a mandatory vacation day, so he went to work. Nobody there, of course, except a lonely hall light, burning to keep itself company. I feel bad, because I should have told him (even though it's my boss's responsibility to do so). Maybe a loaf of home-baked bread will compensate.

Time to have dinner (leftovers) and then go to my SGM meeting.