First Time Ever

Costa Coffee is playing something with sleigh bells. It is some kind of faux Christmas song that sounds about as majestic as a Carvel cake.  Sleigh bells: Do they necessarily doom a song to be a “Christmas song?”  This song, which is an uncertain melody, became inescapably of Christmas, the moment I hear the jingling.  In this case, they make a bad song worse.  I think about sleigh bells for a moment. 

Ahh, but wait . . . Iggy.   Iggy took a great song and made it better, and infinitely weirder by adding sleigh bells.  I don’t think anyone would consciously equate “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with Christmas.  That song though would never be the same without their steady, shaken ring.  I suppose we can find others, but nothing comes to mind.

An older couple has entered beside me.  The woman has a loud blue blazer.  She pauses behind me and I soon discover she has a loud red voice, to match.  “Hey!  Are you in line?  What are you getting?”  “Of course he’s in line,” I think to myself.  Why don’t you walk over to him to converse rather than subjecting the entire café to your discourse?  She trumpets another incoherent inquiry.  I can’t help myself.  “What are you yelling for?”  She considers this for a moment, takes two steps forward towards the counter and begins yelling again. 

I’ve eaten up a fruit salad, slurped my orange juice, sipped down my espresso and consumed the time required to allow me to head straight to the 'my plane is already boarding' lane.  Off we go, down to Hangzhou.

Today our friends in the government have announced a public warning.  First time ever:  the air is officially toxic.  Evolution; The CCP now approves propaganda confirming that all is not well in the capital.  Somehow we know its bad when the CCP can no longer avoid being transparent.