I suppose we should be watching the presidential debates tonight. But I already know how I'm going to vote on that race. (We need to have debates for the local races, where I'm not yet convinced.)
Nonetheless, Porter—after a grueling week of work—was in the mood for a mystery story. I checked out Blockbuster online to see what we might expect, and found a good assortment of Agatha Christie, Inspector Morse, Rumpole of the Bailey, P.D. James, even a couple of Dorothy Sayers. (Alas, no Father Brown stories, nor Ngaio Marsh.) Thus encouraged, we paid a visit to our local Blockbuster store.
What a shock! They've remodelled since we were there last, and their movie stock has been considerably diminished. More than half the store is now given to game rentals and movies for purchase. There is no longer a "mysteries" section. When I asked the clerk for help, he told me that any mysteries would be scattered around, probably in "drama" or "action." There is no way to browse for a good mystery. Next I asked if they had any Agatha Christie movies in stock, only to learn that there was no way for him to answer that question, as his computer only allowed him to look up movies by title! "You mean," I said, disbelieving," that unless I come into this store knowing exactly what it is I want to rent, you can't help me?" Apparently.We did browse for a bit, then left emptyhanded. "I'm cured," Porter said. There was nothing. It was nauseating, in fact, even to look at most of the titles and cover pictures.
Actually, there was one movie we might have rented, had we been in the mood. Not a mystery. I suggested The Mission, and when Porter asked what it was about, I replied, "It doesn't matter; it has some great oboe music." Then again, we can hear plenty of great oboe music without sitting through a movie, so we left it behind.
Fortunately, the library is more reasonable, and Porter now sits with Ngaio Marsh's Light Thickens in his lap. A good solution, even if we have to enjoy it in series rather than in parallel.
