Wait And See

Hello World, It's probably true that nobody ever said, "Beware the Ides of September!" but I have to admit that it seems impossible that we've already gotten to the mid-point of the month - and it goes without saying, nothing to show for it, by golly. In fact, it seems like only very recently I was still on vacation, and I can tell you that I still have the smelly piles of dirty camping laundry to prove it, thanks not. Oh well, things can always be worse, as I'm sure we've all long since learned, much to our consternation, no doubt. Last week at work, there was a particularly busy day in the tiny cramped parking lot outside of the garage, leaving me no place to stash my car for the interim, except for one last lone forlorn little space, which could only be accessed if I somehow managed to parallel park into it. (And once again, I think it goes without saying, thanks ever so much not.) Inasmuch as I probably haven't parallel parked since the purple Gremlin and I took our drivers test (this would have been in the period just after Thak invented the wheel, when the dinosaurs and I were roaming the vast unformed land masses in the primordial ooze) you can believe me when I say that this would not have been a pretty sight, and no doubt sending panic-stricken bystanders scurrying for cover. At least, I assume they were scurrying for cover anyway, because my eyes were closed. Speaking of things better left unseen, I was coming home from work earlier in the week, and found myself behind a Toyota Camry - which it is only fair to point out, is the quintessential definition of an automotive doorstop (in fact, I'm pretty sure if you look up "doorstop" in the dictionary, it would have a picture of a Camry) - with, yes, a bright red racing stripe, of all things. I'm surprised that they didn't just go ahead and paint flames on the hood while they were at it. The dinosaurs and I are only glad that poor Thak didn't live to see this day, or he probably wouldn't have invented the wheel in the first place. Racing stripe, indeed. In other local news, since our favorite Italian eatery changed hands right out from under us recently (BOO!) we decided to try our luck with one of the city's venerable establishments that has been a cornerstone of the downtown dining scene for decades. It was crowded and noisy when we were there on Friday, but we still hoped for the best, on the theory that the place could not possibly be so popular if it wasn't good. Admittedly, the menu selections did not inspire confidence, but we finally made our reluctant choices, and settled in to await the results. It turned out to be a long wait, and 45 minutes later, we had to wonder if they had sent someone out to grow the wheat that they were going to use in the flour to make our pasta. In fairness, we realized that it might not have been the kitchen at fault for the delay, but the wait staff, as we found the service so inattentive that at the hospital where I worked, it would have constituted job abandonment. At long last, our meals were delivered, and to say that we found them disappointing may have had more to do with the long wait, than how bad they actually were. Wanting to be well rid of the joint after a (very) long and frustrating visit, Bill waylaid the hostess for a request to send over our waitress with our check so we could leave, and I think it speaks volumes about our experience there, that even the hostess couldn't track down our errant server, wherever she had gotten to. So in the end, we were left with the inescapable fact that this iconic refectory was not going to be an acceptable substitute for our beloved LaVilla after all, and we would have to look elsewhere. Preferably some place where they don't provide the employees with cloaks of invisibility. And while we're on the topic of being out and about, it must be said that we have had some interesting travels lately, and not all of them bad, which is my favorite way to travel. When we went north to visit our friends for the Labor Day weekend, we made a point of going by way of the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (which is in the process of being built to replace the derelict old Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River) which had only just opened to traffic on the northbound side, while construction is still continuing on the other side. (Alert readers may have noticed Bill's video of this inaugural crossing on Facebook as it happened, and well worth it, if I do say so myself.) Of course, the views over the majestic Hudson are outstanding, although perhaps marred only by the hulking remains of the ramshackle Tappan Zee Bridge tottering off to one side, its days of endangering intrepid motorists now thankfully very nearly a thing of the past. By contrast, the new bridge seems smooth and sturdy, and while it may not win any beauty contests, at least it has youth and vigor on its side in abundance. They've been working full-tilt on this new bridge for a while now, and expect it to be finished some time next year, and we look forward to our first south-bound excursion over its gleaming new surface when that banner day arrives, with all its bells and whistles. The thought of noisy travel reminds me of another somewhat odd twist on our holiday weekend journey, this time on the way home. We were happily humming along, without a care in the world, as it were, and no traffic to speak of, or any automotive concerns along the way. But we both noticed a quiet but persistent beeping noise, every so often, with no idea where it could be coming from, or why. Of course, modern people all have too many electronic devices to keep track of, any or all of which could be making unexplained beeping noises at any time, and in fact, apart from anything else already in the car, Bill and I were both carrying our new cell phones as well as our previous cell phones, so that complicated matters right there. Every time I picked up one of the phones and held it to my head, it sounded like that was the culprit, but the next time I tried that (at 10 minute intervals, since that was the time between each faint chirp) it sounded like something else entirely. We drove all the way home wondering what it could be coming from, and what it could be trying to tell us, without getting any closer to solving the mystery. It sounded like a "low battery" warning, but after digging all of our phones out of our luggage, none of them had low batteries, or reminders or messages of any sort. We were resigned to pulling apart all of our luggage, souvenirs, accessories, and whatnot, to get to the bottom of this, or know the reason why. Fortunately, once we got home, and our phones were all in different places, the culprit was quickly revealed without us even looking for it - because after 10 minutes, the obvious chirping noise came clearly from a bag of walkie-talkies that had been left in the car (probably since camping) with their batteries still in them, and sure enough, they were trying to tell us that the batteries were going dead. In fact, they had probably been trying to tell us that since vacation, but until we moved them out of the trunk and into the back seat, even their most heroic efforts would have been in vain, I dare say. So we had a good laugh over that, and glad to put that conundrum behind us, after puzzling us all the way home. I guess we should consider it a lucky thing that they didn't have a cloak of invisibility besides. Elle