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Unexplained

A pair of oddities

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Chestertown is a strange place. People here are both trusting and fearful in ways I’ve never quite experienced in all my living environments and all my travels. There are both extremely posh, jaw-droppingly charming parts of town and absolutely destitute, crack-selling alleyways. You will never find the inhabitants of one area in the other but there are only two shopping plazas so inevitably they mix. And ignore one another. All this within a few blocks and encapsulated in farmland.

The people of Chestertown do strange things, considering their surroundings and social situation. For instance, Kate and I went to JBK today (no, this is not the strange thing) and noted that a maroon, mid-nineties Mercedes C-Class was sitting in the parking lot with the windows down, a kiddie pool in the back and the driver’s door completely open. Now, someone evidently had the wherewithal to purchase a Mercedes at some point in their lifetime which means that they were either wealthy and/or smart. Why this would then lead them to leave their door hanging wide open and their car unattended is not within my comprehension. The fact that we then went into the store, spent half an hour there and returned and STILL found the car in the exact same state is even more perplexing. Did the owner forget? Was the battery dead? Wouldn’t you still want to lock your car or at least make it look like it could have been locked? Where were the thugs or miscreants to abscond with this free Mercedes?

WHAT GIVES, Chestertown?

The second oddity for the day was seeing none other than Shauna Sand in the background during HGTV’s House Hunters. The episode focused on a dimwitted (aren’t they always?) lawyer’s search for a condo near Beverly Hills. Cut to random footage of Spago, Rodeo Drive, the usual. And there, outside the Van Cleef & Arpels storefront was the Empress of Lucite herself. In exquisite lucite heels, as need be. It lasted but a few seconds but our sighting was real and so helpful in brightening the evening.

Want: Mercedes E-Class shooting brake concept

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You are all well aware that I have always felt that the compact car should also be a sporty & luxurious car. I voted this way with my own dollars, even (see image at right.) I’ve never really understood why Europeans get to have vehicles like the:

And we are stuck with the Yaris, the Fit, the Xb and other such econoboxes. I love that they exist, but they also serve only to make all small cars seem cheap or disposable. While they can be fun, they are definitely not something you WANT to drive.

So I’m glad Mercedes is seriously considering bringing their E-Class shooting brake concept into reality. I highly doubt that the teak accents, glass bar and champagne holder will make it to production, but the elegant body lines, oodles of toys and overall air of Mercedes quality should with no trouble.

Perhaps the public is coming around to my way of thinking? I sure do hope so. If for nothing else than to vindicate the casualties of lardy American misconceptions along the way like the BMW 318ti and the Mercedes C-Class Sportscoupé. May their brave little souls rest in peace.

What the ghost?

General Entertainment, Unexplained by

My family and I put together a new version of the front flower bed. Dug out all of the river rocks, used the backhoe to remove overgrown holly bushes and other shrubberies and then planted a new tree, some ornamental grass and a rose bush. Oh, and dragged down a 1 ton boulder and then a half ton boulder for good measure. You know, the usual for my family.

After taking a few photos of the work done and Bailey perching on the larger of the megalithic decorations, we dumped things onto my mom’s MacBook and viewed the outcome of so much toil. However, we were not prepared for what we saw in the last of the images. Do you see what I’m talking about above?

How about now?

My mom has always been convinced that her father comes to visit from beyond the veil any time she takes on a new project, much as he would when he was alive. I’m inclined to believe her today.