For some reason, this morning I was feeling especially, hopelessly, perhaps even a bit euphemistically New York. A brilliant plan to combine getting a croissant with going to a supermarket in the croissant-having strip mall didn't take into account rush-hour traffic, plus I wasn't entirely sure which freeway exit I wanted - not such an odd situation, perhaps, but in the moment it felt overwhelming. But I got there fine, parked in one of those slanted parking spots that are made for people who got higher than a C in physics but you get used to them, and went to sit outside amongst the fluffy dogs and coughing blond children while enjoying said croissant and a cappuccino.
While I'm not joking about the coughing, the overall vibe was very blond and wholesome. At one point I glanced over and saw the blondest and most wholesome scene I ever had (and I've spent a lot of time in Germany!), involving three generations of blonds and their Golden Retriever.
And then came the part this post's title comes from: Rather than imagining that I was being seen as a Hasid, I looked up and saw two more wholesome Californians heading into the supermarket I was about to go to, dressed like so. Which - as per the link - isn't out of the ordinary, given that there are Franciscan monks about. But for a moment I really did wonder if I was somehow Grammy Hall-ing a couple surfer dudes.
Are you not vaccinated against measles? If you are (which is highly likely), what reason is there to worry about the coughing children?
ReplyDeleteVaccines aren't 100%. But I'm not keen on being coughed on even by the vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteWait, what's hard about slanted parking spots? They're easier to get into than perpendicular ones. Or is there some weird Santa Barbaran variety I haven't encountered?
ReplyDeleteIt's what you're used to. I (painstakingly) learned how to go into the perpendicular ones so as to be parallel to the lines, and how to gauge where the front of the car is relative to the curb. With slanted spots, you need to figure out both how to go in at the proper angle (as vs. just perpendicular to the curb) and how to be sure when one of the front corners of the car is close enough to the curb.
ReplyDeleteAll of that said, it's much easier than parallel, and far easier to get out of a spot than perpendicular.
(Today I pumped gas alone for the first time. It's a process.)
Your experience of driving in California reminds me of my move to Florida in 1990. Though I had a driver's license from the 1970s, it wasn't until I left NY and Boston that driving was a necessity -- you can't live here without a car. I finally started to drive as a matter of course and not after much thought and planning. Now it is routine, automatic, and sometimes enjoyable. JM
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