Day at the beach
This really happened.
My sister called and invited us over for Passover dinner. There were about 20 cousins and aunts and uncles and as usual, it was a bit of a travesty.
But the door was opened and Elijah arrived on cue. Generally, it was nice. There is something to be said for tradition. It’s just unfortunate that some of the relatives have to be part of the tradition.
The next day our dog started coughing badly. So I took him to the vet without an appointment. My bad. There were two beagles, a German shepherd and a very fat cat ahead of me. But eventually we got in and I got a bill for $200 and a prescription for doggie medicine. By the time we left the vet, my dog had stopped coughing and was miraculously cured.
The only down part of the week involved a trip to municipal court to appear for a careless driving incident that wasn’t my fault. I know, the jails are filled with innocent people. But it really wasn’t my fault. A young woman pulled her car in front of me on route 10 and I sideswiped her. No one was hurt and there was not much damage but I’ll be damned if I will accept blame and pay the ticket.
Three hours later, the judge tossed the case and I was free at last. It wasn’t that bad as I got to hear the woes of a 30-year-old woman who stole from a change canister at a pizza shop to pay for her drugs. There were others like a 75-year-old guy who was in court for this fourth DWI and a teenager who admitted to painting swastikas on dumpsters.
Planning an outing for a birthday party is always challenging. This year, we decided to invite around 20 kids and adults for a picnic at Schooley’s Mountain Park in Washington Township. The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed pleased except for one young girl who had to leave after developing a nose bleed.
And we went to the movies for the first time in a long time. It’s just gotten so expensive and so many of the movies are lousy. This was the kind of relatively new theater where they bring your popcorn or whatever to your seat. It was the latest Clint Eastwood pic and was good although not up to his earlier masterpieces. It cost a fortune.
The same goes for seeing the Yankees play. The stadium is so obscenely overpriced. It can cost a family of four $300 for the day. And I don’t even know who plays these days as the rosters are like musical chairs with the players seated after signing the biggest contracts. I don’t want to sound like my Uncle Edgar but I do remember the days when grandstand seats were $1.75 and boxes were $5. I also remember the ushers wouldn’t care if you migrated down to empty box seats in the seventh inning.
Instead we went to the Somerset Patriots stadium. It was a Saturday night game and we had box seats behind home plate. The screening makes it impossible to catch a foul ball but you get to see more of the game than in seats in the outfield.
I love the sausage and pepper sandwiches although I swear the beers are half beer and half water. It’s part of the atmosphere. What’s a ball game if the food and drinks aren’t overpriced. So what if the players are a few years out of Mendham High School. It’s fun. You may be seeing the next Mickey Mantle.
I’m looking outside and it is a beautiful spring day. Hopefully the weather will turn warmer by next week so we can go to Sandy Hook for the day. It’s not a bad drive and it’s not usually crowded. I just plop down on a chair, bury my toes in the sand and open a book before at least one child asks me to watch him in the water.
I really enjoy the hot weather. It’s probably my Semitic blood. I can sleep at night in 95 degrees. Doesn’t bother me a bit.
Oh, none of this really happened. But it will one day.