Red Box

I'm not sure how widespread the DVD rental "Red Box" is nationwide. Here in Maryland, most McDonalds have 1 either inside or in the parking lot somewhere & some grocery stores are starting to add them. The concept is genius - put in a credit card, type in an e-mail address, scroll through some menus, pick your movie & it rents for $1 per day. They instantly hit your credit card for the first day. Then, every 4 or 5 days you have the movie, they hit it again. After 24 days, you own the movie. No late fees, no phone calls, no BS. You can return the movie to ANY Red Box, not the one you rented it from. Bar codes tell the machine what movies it has available to rent.

Last week, I had 2 movies to return, so I did it on my way home from work. When I got to my favorite Red Box at a nearby McDonalds, there was a line ahead of me. A mother with 2 4-5 year old boys was just finishing up. There was a man and a woman, separately, ahead of me when I stepped up. I witnessed what could be called the Red Box syndrome. The man asked the woman & me if we were just returning, since we both had DVD's in our hand, or were we also renting. I was just returning as was the woman ahead of me. At first, I thought the man was being polite & was going to let us go ahead of him. This ended up being the case, but he also questioned us about what we were returning & if it was good, knowing that if he wanted it, it would be instantly available, unlike at video rental stores where the clerks have to check everything back in to their computer system.

I happened to be returning "The DaVinci Code" which was excellent & told him so. He then stepped over to a car where his lady was waiting & said, "he's got "The DaVinci Code" & he says it was real good!" Not sure if he rented it or not, but look out for the Red Box Syndrome in your area!

The Creative One

Last night, my mother-in-law took us out to dinner to celebrate my wife quitting her job. Long story, more later.

Anyway, Amy chose Macaroni Grill, a family favorite from way back. We arrived at 6 & were given an hour wait with the little remote thing. Had a couple of drinks in the bar, pestered a couple we sat next to for 30 minutes & then finally were seated.

Jen, the mother-in-law, breaks out a game on the paper table cloth - she draws a short line or squiggle or something & then the kids complete the picture. After we did worms, whales, ears, smiley faces, Amy draws a zig-zag of lines. Will, the 7 year old, draws long lines from each end & the connects the long lines at the bottom like a large building or something with a jagged top. He then draws a square on top of one peaks & some colored in cirles down from the zags.

As we all try to guess what it is, the waitress comes over. Will announces that it is a mountain with a porta-potty on top!