While Caroline was having her biometrics taken for renewal of her Resident Alien card, I went over to Long Wongs for some Buffalo Hot Wings. This old joint is at 2812 E. Thomas Road in Phoenix and while not the same cool factor as the place that used to be on Mill Avenue in Tempe, where live music was a huge draw, this funky little corner still offers better grub than the multitude of generic franchises where the majority of the clones prefer to eat. I can’t stop in at Long Wongs without thinking of an old friend, Dion Terry who could probably live on these wings.

From a 1926 4-door Studebaker sedan comes this beautiful hood ornament – the Atalanta. Originally, Atalanta was a Greek mythological female athlete but thanks to the workshop of the Studebaker brothers, she came to stand out as a classic design in hood ornamentation leading the way on this rare car. The Studebaker automobiles were built from 1897 through 1966.

In Asia and Europe, consumers can choose from hundreds of cell phone models, America from a few dozen. France is said to have 365 varieties of cheese – one for each day, while California now produces more than 130 types of cheese although your local grocer will at best carry cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, brie, parmesan, American, and something called cheese spread. There are over 7500 varieties of apples on the planet, but when it comes to applesauce we get to choose from regular or cinnamon. Hundreds of cable channels exist, but I can only buy packages of what someone else has determined would be good for me, I can’t pick and choose. From the land of abundance, automation and group marketing studies deliver the lowest common denominator one size fits all generic product for a population of undiscerning consumers more interested in brand than quality and choice.