Signs of the Times

I went to the movie store this afternoon and noticed that the furniture was from the florist next door was getting loaded up in a U-Haul truck. I didn't see a sign ("Visit us at our new location," for example) that would provide any explanation. But no explanation was needed.

Times are tough. If the budget has to be cut, flowers would be one of the first things to go.

Yesterday the girls and I went to Target (two Targets, actually) to buy items for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes (due at Haygood tomorrow) and gifts for the child whose wish list we got from Haygood's Angel Tree. It was not particularly crowded. I had been a little concerned about trying to do any shopping at all, because I thought the stores might be crowded, but they weren't.

On Long Island yesterday, a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by a crowd that broke down the doors of a store.

The house on North Highland with the damaged retaining wall is now being sold by Southern REO, a real estate agency that specializes in foreclosures.