I reread the original Jan’s Hobby Shop piece just now, and I’m surprised that I left out the weirdest detail of my visit. Fred Hutchins, the owner of the shop, was showing me his amazing models in the store’s basement. He said, “Since you’re not from the New York Times, I’ll show you this.” And he pulled out this innocuous-looking party boat, a couple of feet long. I leaned in to inspect the craftwork and saw that the boat was populated by a couple of guys in boating garb and more than a dozen miniature, lovingly painted nude women, lounging around the craft in all their nude nudity.

Hutchins was beaming with pride and making jokes about how this was his fantasy boat or some such—my notes got a little sketchy at this point because I was busy trying to mask my discomfort by voicing bold, heterosexual approval: “Now THAT’S a pleasure cruise! HEH!” I guess I didn’t include this snippet in my post because it makes Hutchins seem a little creepy, which he wasn’t. Anyway, remember: People treat you differently when you don’t work for the New York Times. ↑