Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee
By MICHAEL KINSLEY
NYT
Washington
STROLLING through the Pentagon City Costco last week, I could feel my consumer confidence draining away. Even the bargains at Linens ’n Things around the corner, which is going out of business, didn’t tempt me.
This is new. I used to be a pretty confident consumer. Not long ago, if I had seen the Cuisinart coffee maker that even grinds the beans on an automatic timer, it would have been the work of minutes to goose myself into a state of confidence that this is something I really need. Just think about how sleek it would look on the kitchen counter. Imagine being awakened by the gentle sound of the authentic burr grinder and the aroma of coffee wafting into the bedroom. Say goodbye to that tense interval between the time my wife wakes up and the moment hot coffee brings a smile to her lips. It would even be educational: I would learn what on earth a “burr grinder” is.
To be honest, I had been eyeing this machine elsewhere at $200. Poor, bedraggled Linens ’n Things was desperately offering its remaining supply for only $179. The store was decorated appropriately for Christmas with festive little signs declaring all sales final, and colorful reminders that if you were thinking of paying with any coupons you may have received in jollier times, forget it. “Don’t you understand?” the store seemed to sulk. “We’re going out of business.”
So just take your bargain coffee maker. Take those chirpy orange Rachael Ray pots and pans that look as if they’re too stupid to understand why the other pans are so Gloomy-Gus gray. Take your linens and take your things and go. Let us grieve. See you at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
(More here.)
NYT
Washington
STROLLING through the Pentagon City Costco last week, I could feel my consumer confidence draining away. Even the bargains at Linens ’n Things around the corner, which is going out of business, didn’t tempt me.
This is new. I used to be a pretty confident consumer. Not long ago, if I had seen the Cuisinart coffee maker that even grinds the beans on an automatic timer, it would have been the work of minutes to goose myself into a state of confidence that this is something I really need. Just think about how sleek it would look on the kitchen counter. Imagine being awakened by the gentle sound of the authentic burr grinder and the aroma of coffee wafting into the bedroom. Say goodbye to that tense interval between the time my wife wakes up and the moment hot coffee brings a smile to her lips. It would even be educational: I would learn what on earth a “burr grinder” is.
To be honest, I had been eyeing this machine elsewhere at $200. Poor, bedraggled Linens ’n Things was desperately offering its remaining supply for only $179. The store was decorated appropriately for Christmas with festive little signs declaring all sales final, and colorful reminders that if you were thinking of paying with any coupons you may have received in jollier times, forget it. “Don’t you understand?” the store seemed to sulk. “We’re going out of business.”
So just take your bargain coffee maker. Take those chirpy orange Rachael Ray pots and pans that look as if they’re too stupid to understand why the other pans are so Gloomy-Gus gray. Take your linens and take your things and go. Let us grieve. See you at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
(More here.)
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