Free from Fear
Jul. 27th, 2013 07:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
todayiamadaisyAccording to today's World Wide Words, a slangwhanger is an old (c. 1800s) word for a newspaper columnist who is free to espouse opinions and make use of political cant. That is a term that needs to come back. There are slangwhangers everywhere in the modern media.
This time of year, my eyes get so dry and itchy. It's the heating, but I've never been able to find a humidifier to fix it. Last week my eyes were so bad I was ready to claw them out, so imagine my excitement when I opened the newspaper to see a catalogue from Harvey Norman (a chain of furniture/electronics/appliance stores) featuring a humidifier. So yesterday I went out to my local Harvey Norman. The man said, 'No, no, we've never stocked them.' 'But they're in your catalogue,' I said. 'Never had them,' said the man, 'but I could install a heater with one attached to it.'
I went home and looked up the Harvey Norman website. There it was, a sleek silver humidifier. I clicked the 'Find it in store' button and entered the City by the Sea's postcode. Out of stock, it said. We’ll be getting more stock really soon and you can still buy on back-order. No, thanks. He could have offered that at the time.
But I'd had my heart set on not having sore eyes any more, and I wasn't going to rest after my hopes had been so cruelly dashed. So I rang another store, an independent one this time. The lady said, 'No, sorry, love, we've only got dehumidifiers, that's the opposite to what you want.' Well, yes. 'We looked into stocking them once,' she said, 'but we couldn't find a reliable supplier.' Oh, well, thank you for your time, independent store lady.
My mother had come round for lunch by then. 'Pharmacies have them,' she said. 'For little ones who get croup, like you.' (I haven't had croup for at least thirty years.) So I went to a pharmacy and looked, and, sure enough, they had a whole aisle of them. I am now the proud owner of a large white blob with a cartoon hippo on it. Classy decor. No, it isn't, it looks ridiculous. But I haven't had to put in eye drops in the thirty-six hours since I bought it, so I'm calling that a win.
This time of year, my eyes get so dry and itchy. It's the heating, but I've never been able to find a humidifier to fix it. Last week my eyes were so bad I was ready to claw them out, so imagine my excitement when I opened the newspaper to see a catalogue from Harvey Norman (a chain of furniture/electronics/appliance stores) featuring a humidifier. So yesterday I went out to my local Harvey Norman. The man said, 'No, no, we've never stocked them.' 'But they're in your catalogue,' I said. 'Never had them,' said the man, 'but I could install a heater with one attached to it.'
I went home and looked up the Harvey Norman website. There it was, a sleek silver humidifier. I clicked the 'Find it in store' button and entered the City by the Sea's postcode. Out of stock, it said. We’ll be getting more stock really soon and you can still buy on back-order. No, thanks. He could have offered that at the time.
But I'd had my heart set on not having sore eyes any more, and I wasn't going to rest after my hopes had been so cruelly dashed. So I rang another store, an independent one this time. The lady said, 'No, sorry, love, we've only got dehumidifiers, that's the opposite to what you want.' Well, yes. 'We looked into stocking them once,' she said, 'but we couldn't find a reliable supplier.' Oh, well, thank you for your time, independent store lady.
My mother had come round for lunch by then. 'Pharmacies have them,' she said. 'For little ones who get croup, like you.' (I haven't had croup for at least thirty years.) So I went to a pharmacy and looked, and, sure enough, they had a whole aisle of them. I am now the proud owner of a large white blob with a cartoon hippo on it. Classy decor. No, it isn't, it looks ridiculous. But I haven't had to put in eye drops in the thirty-six hours since I bought it, so I'm calling that a win.