So, guess who shops at Target. Well, I know you do. And I do. And a friend in Nashville called yesterday to tell me she saw Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban there, too. Buying a mop, and a few other household products.

And no, it wasn't one of my australian friends who know heith. Now, that would have been funny - - - a little group of ex-pats bemoaning the lack of tim-tams in Nashville.


Tell me this: what do you do when you're confronted by one of those electric-assist doors. Do you just open it the normal way, or do you do push the button and let the electric glide go? (or, "mash the button" as a friend used to say)

I'm asking because I don't. And I have friends who do it without thinking. And I see kids at my library constantly "mashing," young (Under 70) healthy looking adults too, though their hands are empty, and they are seemingly fit.

I observed "the mash" three times this morning in the office. SOme of our bathrooms, the modern accessible ones, have the assist doors, and most people use the button.

I don't. Probably stems from my father. He was an engineer. Nuclear by trade, but a real mechanical whiz. He taught us that most mechanical things have a lifespan, and each time you push a button, twist a dial, flip it on and off, the item is a bit closer to death. And this used to be true, in the "old days." I wonder if it still is. So, I don't "mash that button," because I figure one day (today? tomorrow? six years from now?), someone who needs help with that door is going to push the assist button, and nothing is going to happen.

Interestingly, he also prefered dials to electronic controls....fewer things to break, meant easier repairs.

I think he was right about that. The furnace in the house I'm living in now lasted 45 years before being replaced ---it just went on, and off. Nothing else. No electronic brain. The gas cooktop rusted through at 43, but still worked well. And I replaced the wall oven at the same time, simply because it was easier to do so. And I have a 24 old b/w tv with no remote control that works perfectly, though it looks stupid with a cable box hooked up. (That only happened once, when cable was installed, and the guy put an outlet in the room) I just replaced the color TV that I purchased when I moved into my first apartment in 1983. Picture is still good, but the stereo speakers short out. I was very cutting edge when I bought that for 399 dollars. 20 inch screen, and all. Sony, of course.

I think i got my moneys worth out of that one, though I felt quite reckless making the purchase.

When I replaced all these items, I was told there was no way any would last as long as the original pieces. And of course, replacements would be cheaper than repairs, in some cases.