You will excuse me a moment while I rant at the insanity of the retail world. Here in the shadow of Washington, DC, August is clearly a "summer" month. The weather is hot and sticky with temperatures averaging in the high 80s and humidity is a fact of life. Even well into September, temperatures in the low 80s are not that uncommon. Thus, my story is framed.
Yesterday, I was the host for play group and the weather was not going to let us down. Clear blue sky (clear in this case means no clouds and no real threat of thunderstorms - not the clear blue of a dry summer day when you can almost see the variations in colour in the sky), temperatures approaching 90 and enough humidity to bathe in. Needless to say, the pool was a required accessory for the event. We bought a largish blow up pool (you still need a pump, but it is a good size wading pool). One of the great features is that each chamber has large "blow valve" that is capped with a rubber stopper and a screw cap. It makes it easy to fill and empty the air. However, if you misplace the caps, you cannot inflate the pool. I misplaced the caps. I spent the better part of an hour tearing the house apart looking for a couple of fifty cent pieces of plastic. No luck. Ah well, I figure it shouldn't be too difficult to go and get another one. Stores should still have a few and be looking to clear out their inventory before September. I hop in the car and head to Wal-Mart.
I enter the store, sure of my destination, but the closer I get, the more I come to realize that it might not be such a simple trip. Sure enough, the aisles that were full of pools and pool supplies (like spare caps, pumps, and chemicals) in March are now full of pack pack, water bottles and school supplies. Of course, I don't need any of these things. A question to a less than interested sale person indicates that they will have pool stuff back in February. Now I don't know about where you are sitting, but even in Washington, we have SNOW in February. Heck, we even have it in March. Why would I even be thinking about buying a pool then. Now, this is not to say that I begrudge them making money on the back-to-school crowd - after all, it takes more money and time to get the kids ready than it ever did, but it is still AUGUST and there are at least 6 weeks of summer left. I cannot even imagine the effort it would take to try on the winter clothes they had for sale.
I left Wal-Mart and headed for Target where they had a couple of pools left over. I got one for a song and a couple of pennies and headed home to get it ready. As I start blowing it up, I realize two things - one, it doesn't have the same type of blow valve as my other pool and second, it is a lot smaller. Well, it will have to do - I get it blown up and start filling it with water. As I am getting the cushions for the chairs out, I find the plugs. On the corner of the chaise lounge (the plugs and the plastic of the chair are both white). Anyone need a small round wading pool?
9:34:14 AM 
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