2001-12-07 - 10:34 a.m.
Freedom. Fighting for freedom. Flags and these colors don't run. Freedom.
What does freedom mean to me. Someone asked me that last week. What does freedom mean to me. And I want to say something about running through fields or something. You know. Amber waves of grain and all that.
But. Freedom.
You know that feeling you get? When you get behind the wheel of a car that you somehow scrounged for. That you figured out how to have in your possession by cashing in favors, past rent deposits and whatever else it took to get the $1,000 cash in hand and the $200 for insurance and registration. And then you figured out how to drive. Got the seat adjusted to you and all the pre-sets on the stations you personally like.
Freedom. And you've got a tube of Pringles, a coke, and a couple of beef jerkys. Just in case. And you've got a mixed tape a good friend of yours in Baltimore made just for you with all the great Dar songs like "Christians and the Pagans" and "The Babysitter" and then those Holly Near songs that shouldn't be so good, but are because you're belting them out anyway. And then that super great and brilliant "Take Stuff From Work" song by King Missle.
And you're just driving. When you're just driving like that.
That's freedom.
***
Ok. This morning I have to give out a CUBICLEGIRL MOST GENIUS MARKETING AWARD the guys at CVS.
The people at CVS. Who. I always knew to be brilliant. Who I recognized the brilliance of when I lived in Brooklyn and was across the street from a 24/7 CVS that carried emergency cat litter, Ben & Jerry's AND pail fulls of glitter nail polish. I mean. PAIL FULLS OF GLITTER NAIL POLISH. Sometimes you NEED that stuff at 2 a.m. And where are you gonna go?
CVS my friend. You're gonna go to CVS. The masters of brilliance.
Anyway. This morning. I discover. On the pah-king lot that IS Route 128... the CVS Samaritan vans.
From their web site:
The (van) drivers, who are trained mechanics, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and crisis counselors rolled into one, are capable of making numerous minor on-site repairs (flat tires, broken fan belts, frozen gas lines, dead batteries, etc.), administering medical help, calming a tense situation, or using their communications equipment to summon the state police or tow trucks. The vans serve more than 30,000 people a year at no cost to the commuter.
I mean. SERIOUSLY. Who the hell thought this up? And how in the WORLD did they convince their board to sign off on it? I mean. It's a really fine line of a connection between "pharmacy" and a "commuter help van". But these guys not only got sign-off on it. but they put it into action. And they thought to get drivers who will not only fix your flat, but who can give you mouth-to-mouth.
And I'll tell you this. Next to supplying PAILS of glitter nail polish at 2 a.m.? This van is genius.
Major props to CVS.
