Thursday, December 29, 2005

Well, Margaret and I still haven't see the Narnia movie--but while we were in Salt Lake we did enter a strange door in the city's scary west side industrial district to an alternate universe (and I'm not talking about the Jordan River temple). Margaret's sister, who knows EVERYBODY that's somebody in Salt Lake and everything that is going on in the city, found out about this place to buy cheap jeans. We were a little trepidatious when she told us it was in the heart of the industrial district of Salt Lake--on the WEST SIDE, nonetheless. The only time we ever cross the forbidden line of the I-15 freeway that bisects the city is to go to the airport--and we try to drive that route as fast as possible and NEVER make any stops until we're safely at the Delta entrance. Anyway, we drove to the area in one of the few passenger vehicles on the road--it was mostly trucks and shipping containers for the giant warehouses for who-knows-what (I'm thinking Jell-O shipments). We drove up to a pretty nondescript building with lots of loading bays for 18-wheelers and there, in the middle of the block-long building, was a tiny (in comparison) red door. We went through it and it WAS like the four kids stumbling through the wardrobe into Narnia. In this crazy, mixed up universe, you could buy name-brand jeans for over half off, designer shirts, jewelry, even LUGGAGE! Of course, we felt like we had stepped into if not the black market (a place that I had always thought was an actual store--and probably behind "Vern's Emporium of Cheap Stuff.") Well, it wasn't exactly the BLACK market--it was more... steel gray, or possibly tarnished silver. Not one to be hooked up on the morality of where something comes from if it involves saving a load of money, we proceeded to spend several hours in the store, rifling through the stacks of jeans, shirts, etc. I tried on a Versace pullover in medium. Normally I wear a small, but European clothes tend to be cut a little more slutty fitted--the medium was so tight I felt like I was trying on Seven-of-Nine's bodysuit. The large ALMOST fit, but was so long I could have gotten away with not wearing any pants with it. We did leave the store with some great finds, and I'm sure that people will be surprised when they ask us where we found our new designer clothes and we tell them "Utah." Prior to this trip, the coolest stuff we've brought back were some delicious dried cherries from Brigham City.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

first, how in the heCK is it you haven't seen Narnia yet? i mean PULLEEZZZ...what's the point of being so urban if you don't see all the BEST movies first? second...whew! i took a little break from my latest and most interesting assignment (as elected official) and thought to myself "hmmm, wonder what jeremy's up to?" and there you were in all your rhetorical finery...i will all my blogs are about our dogs...you have literally changed my world:-) HAPPY NEW YEAR JEREMY AND MARGE!!!

Anonymous said...

Err...the mountains are on the east the airport is on the west.

Anonymous said...

With that girlish figure of yours Jeremy, you could buy the large, put a belt on it and get away without wearing any pants....my eyes began to burn as soon as you said that...