(no subject)
Broadcasting from Highland Beach, Fla. My parents rented an high-rise apartment overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway from November to March, and I'm here for half of my mid-winter break. Unfortunately, it seems that my parents are turning into the curmudgeonly old folks that they like to make fun of here. Though not as curmudgeonly as the...
Old Curmudgeon of the Week
- Mom and I were lounging by one of the complex's pools. Two kids, probably 11 and 9, were horsing around in the shallow end in front of us (as usual, the younger one was being the pain in the ass, but the older brother would get chastised for retaliating; sorry, you never get over it, dammit). They were also tossing around a beach ball, and had a foam noodle nearby. Bratty perhaps, but not doing anything obnoxious that would ruining anyone else's lounging, sunning, or talking about their ostentatious jewelry or cars. An old woman, about 80 or so, comes toddling along the length of the pool. When she gets to our corner, she suddenly notices the kids with their ball and noodle. She raises her head up, and says quite loudly, in a firm, declarative voice to no one in particular:
"I don't think those are allowed in there. I'm going to go read the rules."
And she toddled further along to the other corner on our end of the pool, where she proceds to, much to my mom's and my bemusement, bend slightly to read the Rules Of The Pool on the fence, appearing to nod occassionally at a rule which she obviously believes must, must be enforced immediately.
By this time, the rapscallions whose fun she's bent on destroying have drifted to the far other side of the pool, likely through some mischeivous activity like, oh, swimming, and the old woman toddles her way back over to there, bends down over the kids, and said directly at them, in that same imperious tone:
"Did you read the Rules? Did you read the Rules Of The Pool?"
The kids stop whatever they're doing and kind of bob there, with quizzical looks on their faces. The kids, of course, had no idea a) what prompted this, and also probably b) what the hell Rules she was talking about. At that point I had to leave to join my dad for a bike ride, but I sure hope those boy's parents gave that arrogant bitch a good talkin'-to.
This apartment is also where Sam and I stayed for much of my winter break, which I mentioned in passing in a previous post. It's a little late for a detailed rundown, but I can summarize it as: visiting the U Miami campus, empty of people over the break of course; killer mini-golf on the way to Orlando; Magic Kingdom on Dec. 31, which was insanely crowded; running scared from the Magic Kingdom at 9 PM and watching the 4th quarter of Peach Bowl and then fireworks from the ESPN Zone at the Disney Boardwalk Hotel; and Epcot on New Year's day, which was suprisingly serene (Mission: Space is a must-ride, if you're heading there). Photos to come, maybe. Rich (my brother) was with us at U Miami and took some great shots of the now-lush campus (when I was there it was still recovering from Hurricane Andrew).
Speaking of photos: Mom and I, on the afternoon of Feb. 13 during her brief visit back in New York, at 23 Miles of Flourescent Construction Barriers The Gates in Central Park.
It sure got people of all walks of life and all levels of freakyness out into the fresh air, but artistically I still don't get it.