I Used to Rule the World

Tales from the Cutting Counter:  I am a realist.  I know I'm not as young as I used to be, or think I am.  I doubt I am anything close to hip, or cool, or trendy.  And since I quit pretending to be a blonde, I don't look like that proverbial spring chicken, either.  But that doesn't mean I live in a cave.  Today, a very young woman--I'd guess she was 18 or 19--came up with five bolts of brightly colored cottons and asked for 5 inches of each one.  I started cutting, and asked what she was making.  "There's this band," she said, then cut herself off.  "You probably have never heard of them.  They're called Coldplay."  I took a step backward, and looked her dead in the eye.  I hoped that my scissors looked huge in my hand.  "And why," I said slowly and clearly, one tone softer than normal, "would you think I had never heard of Coldplay?"  "You know who they are!?" she said, truly incredulous that a fogey like me had any inkling of who she was talking about.  "Yes, I have.  And frankly, *I* am surprised that YOU have heard of them.  They have probably been around longer than YOU have,"  I said.  She thought a minute.  "I think you're right," she said.  And then she described her project (a jacket like Chris Martin's in the Viva La Vida video, for her boyfriend) and we had a nice chat.  Folks, the Fabric Store Lady is feeling old.  :)