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September 5, 2006-Shop ‘til…

I think I have contributed to illegal activities. I bought a purse in Chinatown from the back room of one of those stores like I described in my first emails. I have a feeling the people working there are the illegals who we hear about in the news. They have to work to pay off their debt to the people who lied to them and told them they’d take them to real jobs in the U.S. The one thing I learned this time was that some of the back rooms are interconnected by hallways and doors leading to other “lairs.” Maybe one person owns the whole operation. My cousin helped at first. She’s a pro at this kind of shopping and some of the people recognized her. It was when I tried it solo I ran into problems. Some shopkeepers were reluctant to let on they had back rooms. I wonder if there was a crackdown recently. Some denied they had “extra stock” in the back and one lady freaked when I pulled out a cell phone to call our granddaughter Alex to confirm I had the purse she wanted. The son of a friend is very involved in trying to shut down the “knock-off” business in NYC. After we made the purchase I realized they don’t charge sales tax. Now that would really get the state of New York in a snit.

The shopping we did in Iceland was legal shopping. I forgot to tell you about what we found in the flea market in Reykjavik. I told David that if we looked long enough we’d find something Jewish. We did. There were identical brass menorahs. I asked the stall operator where she got them and she said she bought them in Denmark. I wonder what their story was? She wanted $160 each for them. At that price they stayed un-rescued.

The streets of NYC never fail to present interesting sights. We watched the taping of the TLC show Cover Story. It’s a makeover show. The problem was that we couldn’t tell if the woman getting out of the limo was the before or after. Someone should have told her not to chew gum.

Being in NYC at the end of a holiday weekend can be a challenge. Garbage piles on the curbs were as high as I am tall and as wide as the length of a car. The smell was memorable.

We’re glad to be home and had dinner with the clan. Rylee has filled out and is full of smiles. Talia is as effusive as ever and Alex was full of school news. Having one more child in the mix does change the dynamic and we were all busier cutting food and holding the baby. It was great to be back.

Toby