On Parallel Threads
"Remember when a new video game would save the whole Winter Break," Carl asked me. I do remember, and in a desperate fit of re-creation (and, incidentally, recreation), we found ourselves trudging down to EB Games to pick up the yet another Mario themed video game. We'd Partied with Mario, played Tennis with him and, by way of a very obscure import title in the used bin, we had gunned down enemy fighters with Mario. It was time for something completely different, fresh and action-packed.
It was time for Mario Superstar Baseball.
As we drove to the mall, we discussed the division of the Universal, all temporality and probability into an infinitely diverging series of threads; Carl contemplated the threads in which his ACL was never torn, and we both tried to assess the effects of a minute alteration to the world.
Carl pulled into the rear lot of North Dekalb Mall, one of the cleanest shitty malls in Atlanta, and we made motions towards the quadruple doors. I soon stopped to gaze dimly at this :
It has always been an oversized red sign; the size and color are not what tripped me up. There was something so very familiar about this sign, yet something fundamentally different. I looked at Carl, who appeared to be caught in the mental anguish as I.
"Hey, Carl. Didn't it used to be Rhodes Furniture?"
"Yup."
"You think it's a prank?"
"It's gotta be."
We walked up to the windows and peered inside. Alas, ladies and gentlemen, it was not a prank :
I've looked into the matter, in the hours intervening, and I discovered that Rhodes Furniture recently went out of business (damn recession). From what I can discern (read : from what I can Google), the remains of Rhodes Corporation was bought out by Rooms To Go. There is no mention of the mysterious "Shoder Furniture" anywhere on my Google (which should be your Google, if my understanding is true). So what gives?
It is my belief, personally, that Carl and I stepped sideways onto another Thread of Reality. I will look forward to meeting all of my new old friends, and determining the ways in which they differ from their prior-thread analogs.
Seriously, though, it looks like some extremely cheap company bought the old Rhodes locations, switched the R and the S on the sign, and started a new company. I wonder how long this upstart will last, given the success of its predecessor. My father seems to think that the letter-switch will work on enough people to keep the company going; I'd like to think I have more faith in humanity, but we'll see.
-Alan
It was time for Mario Superstar Baseball.
As we drove to the mall, we discussed the division of the Universal, all temporality and probability into an infinitely diverging series of threads; Carl contemplated the threads in which his ACL was never torn, and we both tried to assess the effects of a minute alteration to the world.
Carl pulled into the rear lot of North Dekalb Mall, one of the cleanest shitty malls in Atlanta, and we made motions towards the quadruple doors. I soon stopped to gaze dimly at this :
It has always been an oversized red sign; the size and color are not what tripped me up. There was something so very familiar about this sign, yet something fundamentally different. I looked at Carl, who appeared to be caught in the mental anguish as I.
"Hey, Carl. Didn't it used to be Rhodes Furniture?"
"Yup."
"You think it's a prank?"
"It's gotta be."
We walked up to the windows and peered inside. Alas, ladies and gentlemen, it was not a prank :
I've looked into the matter, in the hours intervening, and I discovered that Rhodes Furniture recently went out of business (damn recession). From what I can discern (read : from what I can Google), the remains of Rhodes Corporation was bought out by Rooms To Go. There is no mention of the mysterious "Shoder Furniture" anywhere on my Google (which should be your Google, if my understanding is true). So what gives?
It is my belief, personally, that Carl and I stepped sideways onto another Thread of Reality. I will look forward to meeting all of my new old friends, and determining the ways in which they differ from their prior-thread analogs.
Seriously, though, it looks like some extremely cheap company bought the old Rhodes locations, switched the R and the S on the sign, and started a new company. I wonder how long this upstart will last, given the success of its predecessor. My father seems to think that the letter-switch will work on enough people to keep the company going; I'd like to think I have more faith in humanity, but we'll see.
-Alan
posted by Alan Orlanski at 6:53 PM
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