20 June 2005

things I will (not) miss: costco

on the one hand, I love costco. the excess. the deals. the mass of humanity. it is the new public sphere (vide Habermas), overtaking the library or the bowling alley (vide Putnam) or the public park as the place families go on a Saturday to have a picnic outside at the snackbar and then go in to purchase a gross of batteries or the latest crap-tv release. okay, so I went in the day Buffy season 7 was released and bought it. who would blame me? but still. there is a dark side to costco, one I witnessed today while waiting in the car for Sam and Tim to emerge.

It seems that those leaving costco emulate various deities by carrying attributes appropriate to their personalities--attributes that deepen our understanding of their powers, perhaps.

Let me explain: one woman I observed seemed to be very proud of her rather large midriff and toted--I kid you not--a costco-size jug-o-mayonnaise on her hip. Like a goddess of plenty, she strutted out of the store carrying her symbol of overflowing bounty, fertility, perhaps also recognizing the double-entendre of its subtle undercurrents of death. I found myself intrigued.

small figure trailing her mother carrying a box of goldfish rather larger than she is: could it be a rivergoddess? goddess of saltysnacks? she clutched the box to her chest--perhaps protector of carbohydrates?

I require a costco iconographer.

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