564. What a terrible disappointment his trip to the resort department store turned out to be, and not just a disappointment but also a cultural shock. The store did not have a section of art supplies, instead it had what is called a "French Landscape Painter's Easel", complete with several blank canvasses, a complete set of oil paints, assorted palate knives and brushes. The item was a piece of furniture, with brass fittings, all for just under a thousand dollars, plus tax.
565. Coromo stood looking at the easel for several minutes until a clerk disturbed him by asking what he was looking for. "Crayons" he said to the clerk. "Right this way", said the clerk. The department store did have a set of crayons, it was not the big set we know from our childhood, with the crayons in tiers, and six or seven tints of each color, it was a little set of eight colors for twenty dollars.
566. Coromo did not leave the store right away, after the clerk departed he wandered back over to the "French Landscape Painter's Easel" and stood looking at it for a while longer. He tried to imagine a life in which such an object could be purchased and used some how, but he came up with a complete blank.
567. It sometimes happens that when one is faced with a dead end, some unexpected solution pops into the head; that now happened to Coromo. He left the department store and headed for the maintenance department.
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