Train Tracks
Hello World,
Glub, glub, glub! I don't know about where you are, but in the local area, I think it would be safe to say that we've certainly had more than enough rain to last us for quite a while, and then some. At this rate, we're all going to get a lot of experience at ark building, which might be considered just a little bit too much of a good thing, and that's putting it mildly. Between the series of hurricanes on the one hand, and the rest of the weather systems that get stalled because of them on the other, we've been getting pelted with heavy weather from every side lately. I'm only taking time out from building my ark to send this note, but I'll be getting right back to it later, and not a moment too soon, before we all get washed away and our tools right along with us. After all, if we have learned nothing else from my old friends the dinosaurs, after all of these countless centuries, at least we know better than to ignore all of the warning signs and not be prepared. Of course, if people always did what they were supposed to do, we'd all still be living in the Garden of Eden now, instead of building bunches of arks as fast as our fingers will carry us, out of fear for our lives. Or as it says in the words of the famous song, "They paved Paradise and put up an arking lot." Say, I'll bet you didn't see that one coming.
Last Saturday was another one where they turned on the waterworks and just left them running all day, so that getting out and doing anything was not for the faint-hearted by any means. After I dropped my sister off at the train station, she tried to convince me that I shouldn't try to drive home on my own, but call Bill and have him pick me up, because she despaired of me getting myself all the way home from two towns away. I'm made of sterner stuff, but I did call Bill to let him know I was on my way, and while he's certainly no alarmist, he made a point to caution me to stay on high ground, avoid puddles and take the Thruway rather than local streets which might be more prone to flooding. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment, especially if you pay attention to the dire weather reports, until you begin to believe the doomsday scenario with the apocalypse just around the next corner. So in spite of the driving rain and gusty winds, I have to admit that it came as a relief to me when I turned onto Pinebrook Boulevard and yes, here's a guy out jogging in this weather. Now, I have to say that this is the kind of thing that restores your faith in human nature, and really puts things in perspective, after all of the hype and hoopla. Or perhaps more importantly, it reminds us all to be grateful that insanity is not contagious, but just to be on the safe side, please jog on the other side of the street, thank you very much.
I was not out braving the elements alone last week, as Bill went to the supermarket while the news was awash with endless coverage of hurricanes, evacuations and emergency preparations. Bill reported that the stores were doing a brisk business in milk, bread and batteries, as if people expected to be cast adrift and left to their own devices because of some rain at the tail end of a hurricane from hundreds of miles away. It reminded me of a quip by a local DJ some years ago, who complained about how people would over-react when the weather forecasters would predict snow: "And above all, please don't everybody run to the supermarket. Ever notice how whenever it snows, everyone has to line up at the store for bread, milk and eggs? They're like, 'We have to make French Toast! After all, it's snowing'!" That always breaks me up.
In local sports news, we were offered some Mets tickets that were up for grabs during the week, but decided against attending the game for a variety of reasons, the upshot of which was that naturally the Mets won, since we weren't there. Bill figures that he saved their season right there, by not going to the ballpark and jinxing them in the heat of a pennant race, and I'm sure that legions of grateful Mets fans would thank him for that. Meanwhile across the country, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (honestly, 50 years ago, a team with a ridiculous name like that would have been laughed out of baseball entirely) clinched their division already, so everybody looking toward playing in the post-season knows that they have their work cut out for them and no kidding. By the end of a long season, the teams that are in front are no fluke, and the teams with the best records didn't get that way by accident. Now, I'm not saying that the Angels are going to win the World Series, but you won't find me betting against them either.
In other sports news, that is, if you consider shopping a contact sport, I'm sure everyone will be glad to hear that the church flea market was a rousing success, exceeding all expectations in terms of customers, profits and even the weather, especially lately. They raked in over $500, and don't forget, this was for old books and clothes that smelled like moth balls. I had been there during set-up time, and so got an early peek at the merchandise, with a chance to take a crack at whatever might tickle my fancy, ahead of the general public. I took the opportunity to pick up some books, which anyone can tell you, is something I need about as much as Satan needs more brimstone, but with considerably less space to put it in, and not to mention, a lot less time to devote to reading what I already have. I admit that may have been delusional on my part, but it was for a good cause, and I was glad to support the fund-raising efforts at church, however misguided my choices may have been. It was still better than previous years, when I would go to the flea market and buy back items I had already donated, which as a business model, leaves a lot to be desired. It's only a lucky thing for me that Satan isn't selling his excess brimstone, because everyone knows that I have no sales resistance.
One day last week, I went to see a man about a dog ..... no, that can't be right, that's the punch line to a completely different joke. What I meant was that I was expecting a man with a tow truck to come to the house for my car (no, not the Escort, heck, I could push that uphill with one hand) and I was doing a lot of running around beforehand to get ready. We had a difference of opinion about whether or not the Gremlin could be towed and he left without it, so after that, I hurried to work since I was already late. This turned into another day where I forgot to bring my shoes to work with me, even though I had carefully taken them out of the closet and put them on the dresser where I was changing my clothes, so I ended up wearing my sneakers all day at work. Incredibly, it was later in the same week that Bill repaired some broken earrings of mine that I hadn't worn for years, and I made a special point of wearing a particular dress so that it would go with my newly restored earrings, and then not only completely forgot the earrings that I wanted, but didn't remember to wear any earrings at all. Honestly, some days it's a wonder that I can even find my way across town to my office, and that I have any clothes on when I get there, instead of my pajamas. So I said to Bill that I considered Thursday a red-letter day for me, because I actually got to work and remembered both my shoes and my earrings, which was obviously not something that I should take for granted anymore.
Of course, it's a well-known axiom that there are no standards these days, heaven knows, while the idea of common courtesy is so uncommon as to be virtually extinct. In nice weather, when I walk around outside the hospital campus, I find the concept of sidewalk etiquette is a totally lost art among people nowadays, as if they are alone in the universe and no one else needs to be taken into consideration. So you can imagine my surprise last week, when I was out walking across town by the municipal marina instead, and came upon a young woman pushing a cart and two toddlers along with her. I was preparing to step onto the grass and walk around them, when the mother cried out, "Choo choo train!" and the little girls dutifully lined up behind her in single file, so we could all easily pass on the same sidewalk without getting in each other's way. For their part, the girls acted as if this was a great treat, doing a creditable imitation of a steam locomotive, including the requisite chugging and whistle sounds, which were quite adorable. I was so tickled by the whole performance, and especially the good manners toward strangers, which are so lacking in society today. This is in stark contrast to the neighborhood around the hospital, where it would occur to no one to get out of your way, and one person with a stroller basically commandeers the entire sidewalk, regardless of whoever else might be there, and glares at you besides, so that you just have to walk in the street to get around them. But at least for one brief shining moment, I caught a glimpse of a world where civility is not dead, although it may have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Say, is that Satan over there selling brimstone?
Glub, glub, glub! I don't know about where you are, but in the local area, I think it would be safe to say that we've certainly had more than enough rain to last us for quite a while, and then some. At this rate, we're all going to get a lot of experience at ark building, which might be considered just a little bit too much of a good thing, and that's putting it mildly. Between the series of hurricanes on the one hand, and the rest of the weather systems that get stalled because of them on the other, we've been getting pelted with heavy weather from every side lately. I'm only taking time out from building my ark to send this note, but I'll be getting right back to it later, and not a moment too soon, before we all get washed away and our tools right along with us. After all, if we have learned nothing else from my old friends the dinosaurs, after all of these countless centuries, at least we know better than to ignore all of the warning signs and not be prepared. Of course, if people always did what they were supposed to do, we'd all still be living in the Garden of Eden now, instead of building bunches of arks as fast as our fingers will carry us, out of fear for our lives. Or as it says in the words of the famous song, "They paved Paradise and put up an arking lot." Say, I'll bet you didn't see that one coming.
Last Saturday was another one where they turned on the waterworks and just left them running all day, so that getting out and doing anything was not for the faint-hearted by any means. After I dropped my sister off at the train station, she tried to convince me that I shouldn't try to drive home on my own, but call Bill and have him pick me up, because she despaired of me getting myself all the way home from two towns away. I'm made of sterner stuff, but I did call Bill to let him know I was on my way, and while he's certainly no alarmist, he made a point to caution me to stay on high ground, avoid puddles and take the Thruway rather than local streets which might be more prone to flooding. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment, especially if you pay attention to the dire weather reports, until you begin to believe the doomsday scenario with the apocalypse just around the next corner. So in spite of the driving rain and gusty winds, I have to admit that it came as a relief to me when I turned onto Pinebrook Boulevard and yes, here's a guy out jogging in this weather. Now, I have to say that this is the kind of thing that restores your faith in human nature, and really puts things in perspective, after all of the hype and hoopla. Or perhaps more importantly, it reminds us all to be grateful that insanity is not contagious, but just to be on the safe side, please jog on the other side of the street, thank you very much.
I was not out braving the elements alone last week, as Bill went to the supermarket while the news was awash with endless coverage of hurricanes, evacuations and emergency preparations. Bill reported that the stores were doing a brisk business in milk, bread and batteries, as if people expected to be cast adrift and left to their own devices because of some rain at the tail end of a hurricane from hundreds of miles away. It reminded me of a quip by a local DJ some years ago, who complained about how people would over-react when the weather forecasters would predict snow: "And above all, please don't everybody run to the supermarket. Ever notice how whenever it snows, everyone has to line up at the store for bread, milk and eggs? They're like, 'We have to make French Toast! After all, it's snowing'!" That always breaks me up.
In local sports news, we were offered some Mets tickets that were up for grabs during the week, but decided against attending the game for a variety of reasons, the upshot of which was that naturally the Mets won, since we weren't there. Bill figures that he saved their season right there, by not going to the ballpark and jinxing them in the heat of a pennant race, and I'm sure that legions of grateful Mets fans would thank him for that. Meanwhile across the country, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (honestly, 50 years ago, a team with a ridiculous name like that would have been laughed out of baseball entirely) clinched their division already, so everybody looking toward playing in the post-season knows that they have their work cut out for them and no kidding. By the end of a long season, the teams that are in front are no fluke, and the teams with the best records didn't get that way by accident. Now, I'm not saying that the Angels are going to win the World Series, but you won't find me betting against them either.
In other sports news, that is, if you consider shopping a contact sport, I'm sure everyone will be glad to hear that the church flea market was a rousing success, exceeding all expectations in terms of customers, profits and even the weather, especially lately. They raked in over $500, and don't forget, this was for old books and clothes that smelled like moth balls. I had been there during set-up time, and so got an early peek at the merchandise, with a chance to take a crack at whatever might tickle my fancy, ahead of the general public. I took the opportunity to pick up some books, which anyone can tell you, is something I need about as much as Satan needs more brimstone, but with considerably less space to put it in, and not to mention, a lot less time to devote to reading what I already have. I admit that may have been delusional on my part, but it was for a good cause, and I was glad to support the fund-raising efforts at church, however misguided my choices may have been. It was still better than previous years, when I would go to the flea market and buy back items I had already donated, which as a business model, leaves a lot to be desired. It's only a lucky thing for me that Satan isn't selling his excess brimstone, because everyone knows that I have no sales resistance.
One day last week, I went to see a man about a dog ..... no, that can't be right, that's the punch line to a completely different joke. What I meant was that I was expecting a man with a tow truck to come to the house for my car (no, not the Escort, heck, I could push that uphill with one hand) and I was doing a lot of running around beforehand to get ready. We had a difference of opinion about whether or not the Gremlin could be towed and he left without it, so after that, I hurried to work since I was already late. This turned into another day where I forgot to bring my shoes to work with me, even though I had carefully taken them out of the closet and put them on the dresser where I was changing my clothes, so I ended up wearing my sneakers all day at work. Incredibly, it was later in the same week that Bill repaired some broken earrings of mine that I hadn't worn for years, and I made a special point of wearing a particular dress so that it would go with my newly restored earrings, and then not only completely forgot the earrings that I wanted, but didn't remember to wear any earrings at all. Honestly, some days it's a wonder that I can even find my way across town to my office, and that I have any clothes on when I get there, instead of my pajamas. So I said to Bill that I considered Thursday a red-letter day for me, because I actually got to work and remembered both my shoes and my earrings, which was obviously not something that I should take for granted anymore.
Of course, it's a well-known axiom that there are no standards these days, heaven knows, while the idea of common courtesy is so uncommon as to be virtually extinct. In nice weather, when I walk around outside the hospital campus, I find the concept of sidewalk etiquette is a totally lost art among people nowadays, as if they are alone in the universe and no one else needs to be taken into consideration. So you can imagine my surprise last week, when I was out walking across town by the municipal marina instead, and came upon a young woman pushing a cart and two toddlers along with her. I was preparing to step onto the grass and walk around them, when the mother cried out, "Choo choo train!" and the little girls dutifully lined up behind her in single file, so we could all easily pass on the same sidewalk without getting in each other's way. For their part, the girls acted as if this was a great treat, doing a creditable imitation of a steam locomotive, including the requisite chugging and whistle sounds, which were quite adorable. I was so tickled by the whole performance, and especially the good manners toward strangers, which are so lacking in society today. This is in stark contrast to the neighborhood around the hospital, where it would occur to no one to get out of your way, and one person with a stroller basically commandeers the entire sidewalk, regardless of whoever else might be there, and glares at you besides, so that you just have to walk in the street to get around them. But at least for one brief shining moment, I caught a glimpse of a world where civility is not dead, although it may have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. Say, is that Satan over there selling brimstone?
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 8:59 PM
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