I guess I have lived in the last frontier a bit too long, because I have had some shocking experiences since moving back east of the MIssissippi River. None of these were big shocks, but they have been eye opening for a person who was very comfortable in the capital city of the 49th state.
Last sunday I needed a few things for the kitchen, so I made the trek up to a mall called the Somerset Collection. It was a HUGE mall that had people movers in a sky bridge that joined the north and south portions over a six lane road that bisected the structure. There were hundreds of stores and restaurants, and VALET PARKING? (lots of valet parking here in Michigan; why can't people park their own cars?)
I thought I was dressing up by putting on Carhartts instead of the sweat pants I was planning to wear, but I was still drastically underdressed. I spent maybe two hours in the mall and having lunch in a restaurant, and of the approximately 500 people who crossed my path, only two were wearing t-shirts. I probably covered only 1/10 of the square footage of the mall, and in my travels, I saw two VERY expensive Italian shoe stores. I thought we were in a mini-recession, but apparently that is not affecting the people who shop in this mall.
Crate and Barrel didn't open until noon, so I had some time to kill, and decided to get a bite to eat. It was probably 1145 when I sat down at the bar in a Mexican restaurant with the very gringo-esque name of J. Alexander's. The bartender asked if I wanted anything to drink, and I ordered a bloody mary. I also got some soup and some very tasty crab cakes, and watched the pre-game analysts talk about the NFL games that would start at 1300. The bartender came over and asked if I needed anything else, and then she sheepishly admitted that she had broken a Michigan law by serving me alcohol before noon. I was very apologetic, and explained that I recently moved to the state from Alaska, and would not have asked for a drink if I had realized that it was against the law.
We both had a good laugh about it, but it seems like such a silly law. One of those things that is still on the books, but should probably be repealed. So much for a nice sunday brunch with a mimosa..........
