We now live between two crap presidents: Harrison and Polk. If memory serves me right, Harrison died very quickly, but otherwise neither of them is at all remarkable. Unlike Henry V, who is Prince Hal in this play. But wait, that's too quick.
Acid-wash jeans are popular in this building. Also, I saw someone today with a Sonic the Hedgehog tattoo. I mean, don't tattoo parlors have signs indicating that they're permanent? This new location has caused an identity crisis here at Shakespeare vs. Zombies. Our tagline has always been blogging Shakespeare and Milwaukee. But now, our chief Shakespeare reader and Milwaukee writer has moved to Chicago. How to continue as we were?
Well, however we resolve it, I owe at least one more Milwaukee story. My last week of work, I think my co-workers took extra care to be sure that I remembered the place for what it is. Wednesday, a nice old grandmother comes into the store. We start talking and it sounds like she's from the South.
There's a way a Southerner can talk to a woman who could be his grandmother. If you've got any raisin', you just absorb a certain brand of respect as you shovel pounds and pounds of grits into your mouth. So, I suppose that my accent got a little bit more pronounced as I helped this lady who could have been my grandmother, except that I am white and she is black.
She walks away a little, still within earshot, still within eyesight. And the manager comes over to me and, laughing, says "We-ell, you sho is goan be busy fo de rest a de time you's bein heah!"
This is not how Southerners talk. This is how racist caricatures of black people, done by Southern white racists, talk.
Brilliant. There's nothing better than having your boss trying to get you to join in a little racist mockery of a customer during your last week. I guess it was time to move on.
Although, now I'm unemployed and it's driving me crazy. Here's a little Shakespeare: Prince Hal is unemployed, as are Falstaff, Bardolph, Pistol, the whole crew. And one of them ended up as king! And two others of them ended up getting killed by that king.
Hmmm. Time to go to the Art Institute for free.
