Last week I was at the Wal-Mart with Mrs. Greenbean buying stuff.  We do not frequent the Wal-Mart often because we try to shop local and avoid the whole sweatshops and “made in China”   and all that stuff.  Yet we were there because sometimes you need stuff and it is only at the Wal-Mart or the Wal-Mart equivalent.  One of the reasons we were there was to buy a DVD for a friend’s birthday gift.  The movie was some light-hearted fluff piece that Mrs. Greenbean was picking out.

While she was doing that I spotted, a copy of Bullitt starring Steve McQueen, the King of Cool.

It has been years since I’ve seen that movie—which has one of the greatest car chase scenes ever.  It was when I saw that movie as a teenager that I decided someday, someday, I would own a Ford Mustang.  That day has still not come, but alas, someday.  The price tag for the movie was a whopping $5 so I grabbed it.  That’s roughly the price of a latte and far more valuable. 

I began to skim more of the movies and wouldn’t you know it, another $5 classic was staring me in the face.  The Wal-Mart had The Maltese Falcon for $5.  Humphrey Bogart is the absolute best.

So last weekend I watched Bullitt and this weekend I watched The Maltese Falcon and I thoroughly enjoyed both.

But, here is where I’m worried about what I’m saying to me.  I’ve seen both these films before, I just didn’t own them.  What I didn’t fully realize until the opening of The Maltese Falcon was that both films are set in San Francisco.  Is my subconscious trying to tell me something about San Francisco?

• Should I book a trip soon?
• Am I craving Rice-A-Roni and don’t know it?
• Will the Giants repeat as World Series Champs?
• Is the Chronicle a paper I should read?
• Maybe I must download a Tony Bennett album on iTunes?
• How good is my fire insurance?
• Will my daughter(s) live there?
• Is Karl Marlden still alive?
• Isn’t Star Fleet HQ and The Academy in San Francisco?

I don’t know what it all means, but it was odd.  If I go to the Wal-Mart anytime soon and my eye catches Escape from Alcatraz then I’m going to know that something is truly amiss.