A Day in Rockford, Illinois

Bree and I spent some quality time in Rockford today. Some thoughts...

Petland is a nice place to go and make a large, unplanned purchase. They've got some cool pets; everything from the cutest dogs you've ever seen to bunnies to turtles to puffer fish and lionfish. If I had a few hundred dollars I didn't know what to do with, I could easily see myself buying a cool new pet and a bunch of accessories for it on impulse. I'm like that, though. As it is, it's a great place to take a little kid to enjoy little animals that you don't have to take care of.

Tangent: If an animal doesn't come when you call it by name, it's not really a pet. Dogs are the only pets I know of that are actually worth owning, and not even all dogs.

Walmart is a great place to save fifty cents on something you needed to buy and spend an extra five dollars on something you didn't even want before you walked in the store. Marketing genius!

Beef-a-Roo is definitely in the Top Ten Reasons To Choose Rockford. Choose Rockford? For what? To live? To visit? It doesn't even matter. If you are ever in Rockford for any reason, it is well within reason to donate some of your hard-earned money to the pursuit of beef perfection.

One of my favorite moments as a father was the first time I ever saw Bree pick up a big Beef-a-Roo cheeseburger with two hands and go to town.

Sometimes, when I am in a hurry or don't know what to order, I simply ask the nice girl at the counter (Beef-a-Roo only hires nice help), "What's the biggest cheeseburger you have?" and order whatever she says. I think I added bacon last time. The sandwich is fabulous, but I'm not sure I recommend this course of action; you may (as I have) end up experiencing some strange emotions. I usually leave wanting to marry the girl. These people are very good at what they do.

I basically have no need for flowers, plants, or girly gifts, but we also found a reason to visit Pepper Creek. We got a second plant for Bree's room. The people there are always friendly and helpful. I asked for something "hard to kill" and, of course, Bree chose the one that we were informed was the easiest to kill of those that we looked at. All I have to do is keep the thing watered. (Don't hold your breath.)

Back in the day when I had reason to buy more flowers, I remember thinking that if I went there any more frequently, people would think I was having an affair with the cute help that seemed to always be there. That particular girl wasn't there today. I didn't even think of that until just now.