The company that owns Linens N Things is reorganizing. The store by Mom’s house is being closed down. She called me before yesterday’s earthquake to tell me about the great deals she was getting, as the Corona store is pretty much one giant clearance sale.
Great deals on tablecloths? I need some too!
High thread count sheet sets for pennies on the dollar? Aw man! Why can’t my Linens N Things shut down too??!!
Towels!?? Oh I desperately need new towels!
No problem! Mom writes down my wish list and says she’ll head back over to the store and shop for me. (Mom is awesome.) She calls once to inquire about my color preferences.
Then the earthquake hits.
Once things stop shaking and we determine that the house is not going to collapse on us, I grab my cell to call Mom to make sure she’s OK. (Land lines were not immediately working). I managed to get through to her before everyone else jammed the network.
“Are you OK, Mom?”
“Oh yes, fine. Wasn’t that something!? Hey, what color towels would you like?”
After hanging up with her, I try to call Rich in his office (on the 7th floor of a glass paneled building, where his desk is close to the window, so he can have a nice view). Can’t get through to his office or cell. The cell towers in Chino Hills (the epicenter) were somehow damaged in the quake.
About 15 minutes later, a call from an out of state friend comes in on my cell. I answer it, assuming she’s calling to check in on us after hearing about the quake.
That assumption would be wrong.
Unable to make a call to a local number from the store, Mom called someone from out of state and asked her to call me and tell me that I needed to call my mother again…. She was still at Linens N Things and had another question about color and thread count.
A good bargain is a good bargain… and in a down economy, even Acts Of God can’t deter a shopper who has found a good white sale.
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