I didn’t have school today, but I went out anyway to run some errands and do some grocery shopping for the holidays. This wasn’t the main pre-holiday grocery haul – that’s on Wednesday. But I was glad to get some purchases out of the way.
I also stopped at the bank to get some money. Now the bank is directly adjacent to the cemetery of Brinkum (you can take a virtual stroll across the cemetery in this YouTube video – apparently, virtual cemetery strolls are a thing) to the point that the bank parking lot is always full whenever there is a funeral.
While walking back across the parking lot of the bank to my car, I chanced to look across to the cemetery and noticed something I’ve never noticed before, namely that the willow trees growing near the cemetery boundaries looked rather familiar.
“Say?”, I said to my companion, “Don’t they look like Groot?”
We agreed that the willow trees indeed bore an uncanny resemblance to Groot. So I snapped a photo. Take a look for yourself:
A colony of Groots has invaded the cemetery of Brinkum.
Most of my errands today involved banks, grocery shopping and other practical things. But I also took the opportunity to stop at the Werder Karree mall, which I know has a pretty good toystore, to look for Star Wars action figures, because I wanted some figures of the new Force Awakens characters. I’d already looked at a big box grocery store, but their selection of Star Wars toys was limited to a handful of Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren and some figures of characters from the prequels and the original trilogy (which I already own, if I ever wanted them). Oh yes, and Star Wars branded alcohol-free champagne, which must rank pretty high on the list of the most absurd Star Wars tie-in products.
The action figure selection at the toy store was somewhat better, though The Force Awakens toys still seem to sell out faster than they can ship them. Plus, the Star Wars section of the “boys aisle” (oh, how I hate the gendering of toys) looked like the aftermath of a First Order attack. Still, I got lucky and found Finn and a nice Poe Dameron figures sans helmet. And Stormtroopers and Kylo Ren, of course. Lots of Stormtroopers and Kylo Rens. Alas, no Rey and no BB-8. And isn’t it telling that even though Star Wars toys are still labelled as “boys’ toys”, the figure that’s hardest to find is the lone female figure? Okay, maybe not the lone female figure, since there’s also Captain Phasma, who coincidentally was sold out as well. Still, I snapped up Poe and Finn and decided that I’d pick up Rey and BB-8 later.
On the groundfloor of the same mall, there is a Rossmann drugstore. Now I don’t normally shop at Rossmann, but I needed some cosmetic items and I just happened to have a “10% off everything” Rossmann coupon. So I went to the store, picked up my purchases and made my way to the cash register. Since I don’t normally shop there, I’m unfamiliar with the layout of Rossmann stores and so I ended up in the toy aisle.
I spotted the familiar Star Wars logo and thought, “It’s a long shot, but why the hell not?” Rossmann‘s selection of Star Wars toys was much smaller than the one at the toystore, but they did have a few action figures. Lots of Stormtroopers and two Kylo Rens and – lo and behold – a lone Rey figure. Of course, I snapped her up and I also got her cheaper because of the 10% off coupon. Still no BB-8, but I’ll find one.
At home, I set up my brand new Force Awakens action figures on the table to show them off to my parents who were coming over for coffee and Christmas cookies. And here they are:
Finn, Poe and Rey look ready to take on the First Order – or maybe just to attack a plate of Christmas cookies.
In the top left corner, you can see my laser projection clock, which looks uncannily like a laser cannon from this angle.
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