Wild Crabapple Tree

Friend Nancy had some things she wanted in Collegetown.  Her husband is deer hunting so she asked if I'd like to ride along.  We left her place around 8:30 and talked all of the way down to the city.  She'd checked the hours the Scheels store at the mall would be open.  We got there as they unlocked the doors and she purchased hiking boots.  While that store was open the rest of the mall hadn't yet awoken.   A salesperson explained that there weren't enough people to staff the stores for longer hours.  Therefore the other businesses wouldn't be opening for another hour.  Decided to drive to Best Buy for Nancy's next planned purchase - ear buds.  I saw a man taking names at the front door but since he didn't stop us we walked on past.  Turns out they, too, are experiencing staffing problems.   Only two people were walking the floor to answer  questions so if you wanted help deciding on a purchase, you put your name on a waiting list - which was what the guy at the front door was doing.  This early in the a.m. the queue was short.  A knowledgeable assistant found Nancy and gave her insights on which product would serve her best.  We walked to a bookstore.  Nancy checked out the sales.  I looked for the Annotated section but think it's has been replaced by aisles dedicated to 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter'.  Again only one clerk at the checkouts and the customer before us seemed to be having a lot of questions/issues w/ her purchases.   While she waited, Nancy poked around the non-book stuff.  She came across a toy slime oozer.  That's the only name I have for it: a clear sealed acrylic cube filled w/ two liquids (different viscosities): the heavier one falling in sedate ribbons through holes in a center partition.   She found it so fascinating that when we stopped to eat, she brought it in and sat it on our table in order to watch it's slow motion movement.  Our server was appropriately impressed w/ the toy plus 'shocked' when Nancy said she had graduated from the local university around 40 years ago.  (and that is how you get a great tip)