So today I quenched my curiosity by visiting the "Forest Fire Museum and Gift Shop," which is across the street from the grocery store. The "museum" is a room documenting all the horrific forest fires that have burned Idaho to the ground again and again. You know, cheery. The gift shop has a complete line of Smokey the Bear dolls, Smokey the Bear blankets, Smokey the Bear mouse pads, Smokey the Bear everything. The best thing, though, was a coffee mug. Unfilled, it shows Smokey smiling in front of some green trees. Fill it with hot coffee, however, and the green trees change to charred, blackened remnants. It's the most inappropriate coffee mug I've ever seen. Who wants to be reminded of the brutality of nature and the carelessness of humans every morning in this particular manner? I'm also happy to say that the gift shop is offering 1999 Smokey the Bear calendars at full price. I think I was their first customer in a decade.
posted by Jen at 8:22 PM link/comments
