Saved on Fifth?

Not this time. It hurts a little when I see that the marble composition books which I paid $2.50 each for at the Krupa Grocery are 2 for a $1.00 at Save on Fifth. I knew $2.50 was steep, but the Krupa Grocery, on Prospect Park West, is a very special store, very individual, the best candy selection on the strip, durags, a few local "artisanal" t-shirts (look up) and the usual lotto heavy bodega fare. You can also get indian stuff there, mehndi paste and exotic kinds of hygiene products. It is adorned with metaphysical messages posted in odd places. On the door it says "That art thou, " which I take to mean "Thou art that," but I'm not sure. In my case, it would have to mean "Thou art that stupid that you paid $2.50 for something that goes for 50 cents somewhere else." Ow.

Here's something else that hurts. I pocketed the coin I had fished up for the meter when we got to Save on Fifth, it appeared we'd inherited a sweet 35 minutes. We must have been having too much fun shopping, because later I found a ticket on the windshield. $35 dollars. Time and space has nailed me again, as it will all of us. Meter time and parking space.

(here, a brief interruption from my inner numerologist/schizophrenic: 3+5=8, 3+5=8. Hello again 88. What are you doing here?)

What sweetens these injuries to my feelings of competence and thriftiness? The memory of the free candy they put in the bag when I bought the school supplies at Krupa. They are some of the most friendly store owners in Brooklyn, go see for yourself. Just don't get composition books there. I wonder if they still have that interesting and fun music selection and those $2 packages of pungent spices.

For anyone who cares, notice that a man wearing clothes that coordinate with my subject once again enters the picture. What's going on! Oh, Brooklyn, I love you so. Are you a White Stripes video? My inner skeptic points out that red and white are popular colors. Well, they are no doubt the colors of the week for me. I took home some of the red and white carnations from the altar of the meditation session I went to last night at Devi, thanks Buddha, and after went to Amin around the corner, a sea of red napkins on white tablecloths. And delicious Indian food.