h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[Sometimes you can't help thinking that the places in your stories are characters in their own right. Here is what a character study of the china shop might look like...]



As you walk past the shop along whatever street that is, you see the front entrance, flanked by two large picture windows that prominently display the most seasonally appropriate china. The frnt of the building has a southeast exposure. Along the left side of the building, there is a pickle yew tree in a large raised bed. The tree gets a lot of
afternoon sun, for itfaces west. Right now, in late November, you can see Christmas displays in both the front windows. Arsenio may not have attracted much attention as a window-dresser, but his work is fine nonetheless. There's even a miniature railroad that winds its way around the window on the left. The old schoolhouse, the
covered bridge, and the Christmas platter (all from the Friendly Village pattern) bring back memories of winter in a rural village. Those are arranged behind the railroad, creaitng a natural back drop. Thw window on the right has plates in the Lenox Holiday pattern plus Mistletoe Park, a miniature winter village with lights that really glow!
Yes, Arsenio hopes to entice little kids passing by to urge (nag) their mothers into letting them go into the shop and buy all this good stuff.

"But what if Arsenio just has those traions for display, bnot pruchase?" the mothers are sure to object.

Arsenio will be waiitng near he door, ready to smile and assure the mothers that he ha splenty of trains (as well as Mistletooe Villages) at a good price, or at a low monthlyptice of $_____ . Sure, this blurs the line between dinnerware and toys, but why not have what people want?

Indeed!

Meanhwile, inside the shop there is some china that isn't specifcally holiday-oriented, but isn't Christmas a time for selecting gifts that might be good all year long? Of course!

Most families like their meals to be casual these days, so there's a lot of basic white dinnerware that wiobn't call attention to itself. It's all microwavable, dishwasherable, and designed to stand up to the worst that rambunctious kids can do to it. Well, almost! There's a half-price replacement offer for any item that doesn't survive its first year.
Does it get better than that? Well, there have been very few complaints so far.

Arsenio's office is tiny, and it faces the front door, so he can easily catch up on paperwork when things are slow, but he can quickly get the front door when customers come in.

Tio the left of his office there is a functon room, where he holds charity teas and Friday night madrigal group rehearsals. This room faces an alley in the back of the building. The set of large picture windows faces the northwest. It gets warm sunlight in the midafternoon, when most of the teas take place. From these windows oyu can see a garden
that is in the rear of a large residential building. In late Summer, fireflies cna be seen in the garden at twilight. This is a well-kept secret. ASrsenio likes to sit facing the garden and enjoy the light show that Nature puts on.

To the right of the office is a short hall that gives into two rest rooms plus an elevator and a staircase. The elevator is recent; it was installed when Aganista Philpotts, rsenio's aunt, had troublecliombing the staiors to the apartment above the store. Arsenio will likely need that elevator someday, but unless he has some heavy bags of groceries to bring
upstairs, he prefers to climb the stairs. It's good exercise, and it helps give him an appetite fpr whatever supper he plans to have. Unless, or course, he plans to eat out.

His favorite eating places are the Waffelhaus and the River Pirartes Inn. The owner of the Waffelhaus became a bit pset when she heard that Arsenio might start serving coffee in his shop. She feared that he would take business aay from her. It took a few days to allay her fears. Although he might put in a coffee vending mahcine, that would likely be a year
or twoi n the future, as the production of any such machines would take a while to accomplish. The vending mahcines kight also goi nto the planned Hoovernile Court, but who knew whether Arsenio could even get the contract for that? The modern world is a very competitivbe place, some would even say a cruel place. Arsenio is not a cruel man.
He has a business degree, but he has no ambition to work for someone else in a large, bureaucratic firm. He will always aim to greet every cusotmer himself and try to think of things they might want. What else are3 local businessmen for?

Sure, Arsenio's business, like any other, will undoubtedky change over the years, it will always react to what people here want.

Sounds like you don't want November to end too my friend?

That's true.

I also had a vivid image of that china shop in my head. It was almost as if it was a real place, a place I wished I could spend some time in.

Maybe I write like an actor? I *see* every scene in my head.

Yup, that'll get you into trouble! Wish I could film my thoughts, lot easier than writing lol

It *did* get me into trouble. The dust is still settling from that.

Save all this material! I told Robbie he has to get us a film producer. Or at least a radio play...

Somehow, this and FWR's journal story reminded me of Sondheim's 'Beautiful':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp1lOSkjDbg

'All things are beautiful, Mother...
Pretty isn't beautiful, Mother
Pretty is what changes
What the eye arranges
Is what is beautiful...'

This is also the only song I know in which someone complains about the Eiffel Tower.

I may have told you this before, because I find it Quite Interesting:

According to Stephen Fry's somewhat quirky quizz-show Q.I. the French author Guy de Maupassant ate in the Eiffel Tower's restaurant every day.

Why?

Because it was the only place in Paris were he did not risk seeing the tower he abhorred so immensely

"This is also the only song I know in which someone complains about the Eiffel Tower." [Dmitri]

Um, there is one *other* song I know of, "It's a bore," from "Gigi."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULDGLrvDtJw

Don't you marvel at the powr of the mighty Eiffel Tower."

"How many stories"

"90."

"How many yesterday?"

"90"

"How many tomorrow?"

"90."

"It's a bore!"

I didn't remember that one.

Of course you didn't. I's too silly for your memory banks, but not for mine. I'm proud of songs like "You chew in your sleep," and "Lights, camera, platitude."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC4k_HiU80g

"Two years in the making" has some hilarious lines, too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-_z2IFrOHU

"Little mary Sunshine" has funyn songs,too

Here's the one about the forest rangers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkJbo_bFHxA

"Look for a sky of blue" is good, too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-mS014v7IY