Where is everyone?

Let's see… it's 10:45 and we're safely home. Not bad! We're already back from our shopping expedition and it went very well. Into Penney's in a flash at 8:30 and back out by 8:50. Now over to Toys R Us for another brief visit. Ten minutes at the most.

But, I must admit that the experience had me worried. There was no one in Toys R Us. The clerks outnumbered the customers by a ratio of 20 to 1? You could have grabbed a skateboard and skated down any aisle with safety. Has Christmas been cancelled?

We also visited Bed, Bath and Beyond and World Market. It was the same story. 10 in the morning and 3 days left to shop; you'd think there would have been a few more people.

OK, shopping's over and we decided to go out for breakfast at the Roost, a small old-fashioned restaurant, the kind with a counter and seating for about 20 people. We were the strangers; everyone else seemed to be well acquainted. It reminded me of how restaurants used to be…

ps… While I was waiting for the good food to arrive, I opened a copy of the Chico News & Review and read the Anthony Peyton Porter column from last week; a good one!