Tube Dude

I love living in a small town where folks gather to celebrate local activities and businesses. Last week's Olney Community Night offered plenty of fun demonstrations as well as vendors for kids and adults -- thank you for the free samples, Olney Winery! Remember all the food and activities at last year’s Olney Community Night? 

Before Olney Community Night, the most recent town event I had enjoyed was National Night Out in August. What immediately drew my attention was not the crowd or fire truck or spraying hoses ...  but the glorious pink Air Dancer! Olney may be small, but not too small for a gigantic, undulating tube dude.

I've see these towering inflatables in Rockville or larger towns, but now we have them! Okay, so these tube dudes are only on the ATM screen at Bank of America's Olney branch.

But a real Air Dancer in the Fairhill Shopping Center parking lot meant that Olney made the big time, at least for one night.

That image inspired my second Modern Family moment in Olney.  Unlike any of my ten past Seinfeld-Olney moments, it reminded me of Phil and Gloria moving like Olney's Air Dancers. Check out this video (sign in) and scroll to 13 seconds in.

What's on the Bag?

As I noted in an earlier post "Social Giant", I usually shop at Giant but occasionally visit one of the other three grocery stores in town. One of those establishments, Harris Teeter, hosted a table by the exhibit hall entrance at last week’s Olney Community Night.  As I shuffled behind the crowd entering the exhibit hall, I couldn’t help but pause in front of the table. Despite trying to avoid any eye contact, I couldn’t pass the table quickly or stealthily enough.

"Would you like one?" the Harris Teeter representative greeted me, holding out a green Harris Teeter cloth bag. I hesitated and -- as silly as this may sound -- panicked mildly. I thought, 'Augh! I seldom shop at Harris Teeter! I don't want to appear disloyal while shopping at Giant!'

Not wanting to be ungracious, I smiled and accepted the bag quietly. When I returned home, I gave the Harris Teeter bag to my husband to stash in his car. I figure 1) he rarely grocery shops and 2) even if he does and visits Giant, he’ll look like the traitor, not me!

Does anyone else ever worry about shopping in one store while carrying a cloth bag emblazoned with another store's name?