“Store” = “Museum”: The Dark Underbelly of Suburban Newspeak (Day 60)
Spent most of Day 60 working on my grad school apps (and Days 61 and 62 — so you know what you got to look forward to!). Eventually, though, at my nephew’s insistance, went to Cabela’s with my brother and his two kids. My and his wife have trained the kids to believe that Cabela’s is a museum — handy, since it’s only 15 minutes away from the house (Chicago’s real museums are 90 minutes or so away and, IIRC, charge admission).
I was going to go with “joy” initially, then changed to “dark underbelly”. I suppose “reality” would have also worked, but it sounds less inflammatory.
And when you shoot the snake, it hisses at you.
My niece and nephew both like the stuffed animals best — well, not “stuffed animals”, animals that were shot, then stuffed by a taxidermist. That kind.
bkd
The identification of Cabela’s as a museum was spontaneous by the nephew. We are members at the Field Museum (lots of stuffed animals) and the Brookfield Zoo (where the kids like to “help animals” in the faux veterinary center, build terrains using plantic animals, and play with pretend eggs the size of NFL footballs). I assure your readership — the whole web world, in fact — that we do not deprive them of useful, engaging animal experiences. Yes, the drive is shorter and no parking fees and sporting goods stores always appeal to the Uncle/Brother entity.
Some blogger on a road trip bought something, too.