When I was a kid, I loved going to what we called “The 5 & 10″. The name was a holdover from the days when a small variety store had items that actually sold for 5 or 10 cents. Of course, those were the days when $43 a week was a livable wage and milk cost 10 cents a carton. We used to laugh because nothing sold for less than a dollar anymore but they still they had a wide array of merchandise on display. There was even a “soda fountain” where the man behind the counter would mix up a soda [pop] right before your very eyes. He’d squirt a little syrup into the glass, add some carbonated water and voilà — a treat to tickle your tongue and the perfect complement for your Snickers bar.
It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Today the little variety store is called North Korea, the man behind the counter is named Kim Jong-il and you still can’t buy anything for a dime. However, they have plenty on display and regular live demonstrations of their merchandise. Most recently, they rolled out a nuclear device about the size of the Hiroshima blast and a couple of rockets that can reach out from a few hundred to a few thousand miles. No-o-o-o, they’re not aiming at The United States but they are hoping this eye candy attracts the attention of buyers like Hamas, Al-Qaeda and similar prospects who may be shopping for the right ingredients to quench their murderous thirst and complement their bar full of nuts.
Meanwhile, what is the acting President doing since he returned from his American apology tour? Well, Barack ‘Chavez’ Obama is focusing his wrecking ball on the economy once again, this time buying himself another car company, preparing to add health care to the long list of failed government follies and nominating the most radical candidate ever to be considered for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Add a VAT tax, an energy tax, as well as several nuisance taxes and we have pure taste titillation for the quenchless thirst of our own Socialist nut bar.
As far as the North Korean dime store, not to worry — just like Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other troubled kids on the block we’re going to talk with them, all the time hoping we don’t get mugged while we’re hobnobbing. Maybe we’ll even roll over for the United Nations, just to show our soft underbelly to any madmen who didn’t notice when our fearless leader exposed it in the first place. Change? Geez, I hope I have enough left for a chocolate soda!
R.S.F.
0 Responses to “The Dime Store”