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Sunrise

Retail Math — 1LinerWeds – JusJoJan

Dan Antion
2 minutes
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Last year, LL Bean opened a store in a nearby town. I needed a new pair of boots for walking in the winter, so I decided to check it out. I found a pair of warm, waterproof and very comfortable boots. On my way out, I spied a table full of jeans for sale. I had recently been looking for a pair of black jeans. I tried on a pair in my size. They felt good so I took them and my boots to the checkout.

I was somewhat shocked at the price for the jeans. After explaining to our daughter that I had tried the jeans on without looking at the price tag, she replied:

“LL Bean price tags are like parentheses, The first order of operations.”

For One-Liner Wednesday by Linda G. Hill

If you’re scratching your head about “order of operations” you need to go back to middle school, maybe even before. Remember someone telling you, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” ? That was the mnemonic for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication / Division, Addition / Subtraction.

Pemdas
Order of operations

Fence in snow
Looks like winter
Birds eating in back yard
The buffet is open
Ice and snow
I think I’ll walk in the snow
Frozen birdbath
When it’s warm enough, we dump the ice out and put water in the bowls.
Birds eating
Some fly in, some fly out. everybody eats.
Sunset
The sun is setting a little later now.
Connecticut River
Snow is melting and the ice is retreating.
Trestle
The best views of the trestle and bridge are in the winter.
Sunrise
Sunrise shining through a pine tree on my way home.
Black squirrel
Smokey hanging on in a still wind.
Dancing leaf
This leaf looks like it’s dancing
Sunrise
We didn’t get much snow but it stuck around.
Flag
Last day at half staff. R.I.P. Jimmy

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Bridge to Nowhere

78 responses to “Retail Math — 1LinerWeds – JusJoJan”

  1. willowdot21 Avatar
    willowdot21

    I hate it when the price of an object is not obvious. I remember there was a saying “If you have to ask the price you can’t afford it” it a sales rouse .💜💜💜

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      If I had seen the price tag, I never would have tried them on. But they fit, and the jeans I wanted to buy elsewhere were out of stock (even online). These are some special LL Bean fabric. Oh well, lesson learned (the hard way).

      Like

      Reply
      1. willowdot21 Avatar
        willowdot21

        We always remember the hard lessons. 💜💜💜

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  2. Ruth Avatar
    Ruth

    Oh dear, I’d forgotten all about the order of operations… maths was never my strong point at school! :-)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I’ve been criticized for introducing math in the past. I hope Mary lets this one slide, since it was our daughter that introduced it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Ruth Avatar
        Ruth

        Funnily enough I find it’s easier to understand and make sense of in the context of the everyday stuff you write about – it’s learning each concept in the abstract in the schoolroom I struggled with. Sometimes education is wasted on the young… :-)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          That’s true. We all asked, “When will we ever need this?” and they never gave good examples, even though there were many.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  3. Oddment Avatar
    Oddment

    I was totally stumped by this one-liner. I have to go back to middle school? Or even before that? Ha. Not a chance. They didn’t even call it middle school back then! However, I understand perfectly about price tags. Your winter photos are beautiful, and I have to say that that dancing leaf is almost as good as the trestle!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Where I grew up, they called it Junior High, but around here it’s Middle School. It’s also different grades. Our Junior High was, 7, 8 & 9th grade. Here, it’s 6, 7 & 8th. I think they actually introduce Order of Operations in 5th grade. I know that’s when I learned about it because they taught us about exponents and different number systems (Base 2, Base 8, etc) as it was the year they introduced New Math (remember Tom Lehrer’s song, 1965 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6OaYPVueW4 ).

      Price tags, care tags (why did you buy something that needs to be dry cleaned?) have always been a problem for me.

      Plus, given that I was the only male in this house, there’s a total lack of sympathy because, I can simply buy something that is “My size” – apparently women’s sizes are different.

      I am glad you liked the dancing leaf. I hope you have a great rest of the week.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. Oddment Avatar
        Oddment

        Oh, boy, do I remember “New Math”! I loved Tom Lehrer! I think I can still sing all the verses of “Rickety-tickety-tin.” Alas, my mother hit the ceiling when she heard “Vatican Rag,” and the record was no longer allowed in our house!

        Yes, it was called Junior High in the town where I grew up but not in the school I attended. By the time I was in college, “Middle School” was catching on. No matter what it was called, I missed the Order of Operations. Totally.

        I can imagine that being the only male in the house would lead to some (mild) persecution. Yes, women’s sizes fluctuate hourly.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          Tom Lehrer put all of his songs into the Public Domain a couple years ago. I remember my brother buying that album and my father laughing hysterically at “Vatican Rag.” We weren’t Catholic, but my mother did not approve. Still, the album was played, and we watched as Tom sang some of those songs on variety shows.

          You might have missed New Math, and Order of Operations, but you probably knew how to diagram sentence. In addition to New Math, I was subjected in 5th grade to “New English” which lasted precisely one year in our school system. Type One words, Type Two words and a focus on understanding the meaning of the sentence, not the structure.

          My daughter actually has a list of sizes that she buys at different stores. I can’t imagine.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Oddment Avatar
            Oddment

            You got that right: I could diagram sentences! Always in demand at parties. “New English”? Was that also what was known as “Transformational”? That was about the time I started teaching and I avoided that like the plague it was. Our poor language still hasn’t recovered from it, (My never-humble opinion.)

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. Dan Antion Avatar
              Dan Antion

              It may have been called that, or derived from Transformational English/grammar. The idea was that the structure didn’t matter as much as the meaning. Oddly enough, the “rules” of transformational English show up in operations like when Spellcheck suggests correct words. Adding, deleting and changing letters are all assigned a value (or cost). I understand that, but please don’t ask me if a clause is independent or dependent.

              Liked by 1 person

            2. Oddment Avatar
              Oddment

              Yes. Meaning before structure. To me, that was hooey. Tom Lehrer, on the other hand, was real learning. I didn’t know his songs were public domain — that’s great. I still sing the -l-y song from “Electric Company.”

              Liked by 1 person

  4. Rivergirl Avatar
    Rivergirl

    L.L. Beans is great, but it also never fails to deliver sticker shock.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yeah, there’s another lesson I’ve learned the hard way.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Rivergirl Avatar
        Rivergirl

        They used to have a lifetime return policy which was great. My BIL bought one pair of boots in the 70’s and traded them in at least 5 times…

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          I love the boots I bought. I remember when Sears had a lifetime warranty for Craftsman tools. Gone are those days.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  5. GP Avatar
    GP

    Are Bean clothes still guaranteed for life?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I doubt it, but these feel pretty good. I’ll probably keep them for a long time.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I do not like shopping for clothes. My wife laughs at me because I think everything should be under $10.00.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      My wife said, “The jeans fit, you haven’t been able to find them anywhere else, just buy them.”

      Like

      Reply
  7. Cheryl Wood Avatar
    Cheryl Wood

    Love the flag pic and the leaf, looking like it’s fighting declaring it’s not giving in😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      That leaf was amazing. We had 30 mph winds yesterday, and it stayed there during my walk.

      Like

      Reply
      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        When it does move, you should bring it in the house and keep it in a book so it’ll be there forever.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  8. Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread Avatar
    Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread

    L.L. Bean certainly makes quality products, but they do come with a hefty price tag. That being said, you’ll probably wear them for years. As for Order of Operations, I think I’m definitely showing my age when I say they didn’t cover that when I was in school. We memorized everything. :-)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Those jeans do seem like they’ll last me for a good long time. Some special fabric, according to the tag I didn’t read. I ran into coworkers who were my age and hadn’t learned or didn’t remember Order of Operations. It’s a concept that causes some interesting errors in computer programming – if you don’t pay attention.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. Ally Bean Avatar
    Ally Bean

    If I learned this information in middle school I’ve long forgotten it. It’s all new to me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Fair enough. It’s only necessary when it is.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. circadianreflections Avatar
    circadianreflections

    That’s when the rules of math started getting more complex and I started getting lost. I loved that leaf dancing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Math was my friend in school. That leaf was determined to stand. We had 30 mph hour winds yesterday, but it stood there (I think it was laughing).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. circadianreflections Avatar
        circadianreflections

        😂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  11. Dave Astor Avatar
    Dave Astor

    I’m not remembering a game show called “The Price Is Wrong,” but it must have existed. :-)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yes, Dave, and I walked away with the consolation prize.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Dave Astor Avatar
        Dave Astor

        :-)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  12. Frank Hubeny Avatar
    Frank Hubeny

    When looking at Smoky in the tree it occurred to me that those squirrels in your yard are taken very good care of by you.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      We have fed them for over 40 years, Frank. It started as a way of letting our daughter see some wildlife up close. But, as more and more people have removed trees and started spraying their lawns in the quest of a green carpet, there’s very little habitat left for them and the birds. Feeding them, and trying to provide water has become more important. So, now, we have squirrels, birds, bunnies, an opossum and perhaps a skunk family nearby. Fortunately a couple neighbors also welcome their presence.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  13. Murphy’s Law Avatar
    Murphy’s Law

    It was Junior High School for me, grades 7, 8, 9 and 10. So High School was only 11 and 12. Weird, huh? Order of Operations is totally Greek to me! Never heard of it.

    Yessss, ALWAYS look at price of garment BEFORE you find it fits perfectly and fall in love with it. BUT, like my dad always said, “You get what you pay for”. Anything from LL Bean will more than pay for itself in the big picture.

    Love that dancing leaf and the well attended outdoor buffet. And I like the sunrise shining through the pine tree.

    Exceptional shot of Old Glory paying her last respects to Jimmy Carter.

    Ginger 🦋

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      7 through 10? Now that’s different, Ginger. Perhaps it was a crowding issue. We decided to put our daughter into parochial school when, due to overcrowding, they combine 4th through 8th grade in the middle school. There was no way we wanted a 4-year-old on a bus or in a building with 7th and 8th graders – I don’t want to be in that building.

      Checking prices as a first order operation from now on. I do like the jeans, and they are well made.

      That leaf stood strong against a 30 mph wind yesterday, and Old Glory gave Jimmy a rousing last day.

      I hope you have a good rest of the week.

      Like

      Reply
  14. lois Avatar
    lois

    My excuse for not having heard of Order of Operations is we didn’t have middle school. Only grammar school (1-8) and high school. We did have ‘new math’ in grammar school, but I got lost really quick in that so maybe they did talk about Order and that, along with everything else, went totally over my head.

    I was too busy diagraming sentences–my first love.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      You, my wife and Maureen. I still struggle with those things because (see my comments to Maureen) we had New English, along with New Math.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. lois Avatar
        lois

        New English–I didn’t know about that. Probably too busy keeping my head down and diagraming my heart out. 🤣

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          You probably had a teacher like Maureen, who thought it was hooey ;-)

          Like

          Reply
  15. John W. Howell Avatar
    John W. Howell

    I have forgotten more than I ever knew about the order of operations. Thanks for the reminder, Dan

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Consider it a largely unwanted public service announcement.

      Like

      Reply
  16. Liz Gauffreau Avatar
    Liz Gauffreau

    Eek, pre-algebra flashback!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I’m sorry, Liz. My daughter started it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Liz Gauffreau Avatar
        Liz Gauffreau

        😁

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  17. Teagan Riordain Geneviene Avatar
    Teagan Riordain Geneviene

    OMG, not math! And that addition symbol… it looks like a….

    Van Helsing (2004) – dracula and the cross

    It looks mighty cold there, Dan, but the photos are lovely. Hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      That might be the funniest reaction to math in one of my posts, ever, Teagan. Sorry for the trauma-inducing narrative.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Teagan Riordain Geneviene Avatar
        Teagan Riordain Geneviene

        LOL, thanks for putting up with me, Dan. :D

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  18. Tails Around the Ranch Avatar
    Tails Around the Ranch

    Clever post, Dan. Yes, your daughter is right…LL Bean can give a shopper sticker shock!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks. The price surprised the heck out of this boy.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  19. JT Twissel Avatar
    JT Twissel

    That’s a shame about $$$ pants – LL Bean used to be a fairly reasonable place to buy clothes…. looks like winter indeed!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      According to the label I didn’t read ahead of time, that they are made from some special material that looks and feels like denim but keeps the wearer cool (as if I need that, it was -5 degrees last week).

      Like

      Reply
  20. D.L. Finn, Author Avatar
    D.L. Finn, Author

    I’ve had that price shock too. No the price isn’t always clear and confusing. Good one liners :)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I shouldn’t say it wasn’t clear, Denise. I was so excited at the prospect of find black jeans in my size (not an odd size, btw) that I just hurried to try them on.

      Like

      Reply
  21. Miriam Hurdle Avatar
    Miriam Hurdle

    Good one-line, Dan! I just told a story to my husband about prices. About 40 years ago, I rented a room from someone whose parents owned the “Crocodile” dress shirts business in Hong Kong. At that time, a Crocodile dress shirt at the mall was $24. She told me it costed $1 to make it. The rest of it was overhead, taxes, and profit. I haven’t paid retail prices for a long time. :-) :-)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I owned a cabinet shop in the mid-1980s. I had to close because I couldn’t afford the insurance. Every other cost could be covered, but not insurance.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Miriam Hurdle Avatar
        Miriam Hurdle

        The insurance is very expensive. Oregon has no sales tax but the insurances, property tax, and utilities are expensive.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          It was expensive and they wouldn’t let me do some of the renovation work I was doing, without an additional contractor’s policy.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Miriam Hurdle Avatar
            Miriam Hurdle

            I just don’t understand the insurance business. Not that I want to file a claim, but if we never file a claim, all we pay for the coverage is their gain.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. Dan Antion Avatar
              Dan Antion

              Ironically, I ended up finishing a 30+ year career at an insurance company. You know the saying, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. :-)

              Liked by 1 person

            2. Miriam Hurdle Avatar
              Miriam Hurdle

              Now you know all the ins and outs. 😀

              Liked by 1 person

            3. Dan Antion Avatar
              Dan Antion

              I still couldn’t afford it.

              Liked by 1 person

  22. John Holton Avatar
    John Holton

    There and Land’s End. Check the price first…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  23. memadtwo Avatar
    memadtwo

    Hard to pick a favorite photo, but I’ll go with Smoky in the tree.

    Everything gives me sticker shock these days. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I am learning to look at the tags.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. memadtwo Avatar
        memadtwo

        Good idea.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  24. Author Jan Sikes Avatar
    Author Jan Sikes

    The price tag on just about everything is shocking these days, but when you find comfortable jeans AND boots, you have to get them. :) Love the photos. That leaf does look like it’s doing a happy dance.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Jan. That was my wife’s advice, “just buy the jeans.”

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. Almost Iowa Avatar
    Almost Iowa

    What I don’t get is taking things back. My wife always does that. “If they don’t fit, I will take them back,” she says. It just seems weird.

    Like

    Reply
  26. marianallen Avatar
    marianallen

    Til the day she died, my mother never forgot the time she exclaimed over a price, and the salesperson said, “Try the ten-cent store, dearie.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yikes!

      Like

      Reply
  27. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Ah! Not being a math guy, I didn’t even know there WAS an “order of operations.” But this is certainly useful to keep in mind for those math problems that crop up on social media from time to time — the ones that feature lots of parentheses, etc., and always have respondents coming up with vastly different answers.

    Like

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yes, Paul The solution to those, “Most people get this wrong” puzzles lies in adherence to the Order of Operations. I once had a big problem at work, One of our departments had used parenthesis as a way of “highlighting” segments of an algorithm but were unaware they were significant, until our calculations were extremely wrong.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  28. Jennie Avatar
    Jennie

    Oh no…math. I’ll have to study this one a little harder. Everything is sooo expensive, including LL Bean. Sigh! The photo gallery was the bright side.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Jennie. I’m hoping these jeans last as long as some of the other things I have from LL Bean. Sorry about the math lesson.

      Like

      Reply

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