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RedRooster of Bloom
Jun. 7th, 2023 09:07 pmMadame informed me that she needed to return home earlier than usual from our lunch, so I suggested we meet a bit earlier than usual as well. This turned out to be kind of a comedy of errors. Her daughter Medemoiselle said she'd drop Madame off at the cafe. I left in what I thought was plenty of time to meet them. However, to my surprise and displeasure, I encountered a road closure and detour that went all around Robin Hood's barn, though many other construction zones. They seem to be tearing up every street in the Village. This happens every summer in western Michigan. The hive buzzes with maniacal energy as they all try to fix everything before winter comes again. So I was a little late. But, as it turned out, they were just as late. So we didn't start early after all.
Madame looked well, but I fear she seemed a little diminished. I did most of the talking, as she didn't seem to have the energy to tell me any of her stories. She was having trouble with her hearing aids. And new management at the cafe is refusing to make her favorite, if off-menu, artichoke salad wrap sandwich. The nerve of them! I actually went so far as to argue with them, but they were inflexible. Madame may have been feeling distracted by the fact that she was scheduled for a driving test today. She explained that she thought they were going to make her actually drive, but then she found out it was going to be just a written test, so she was trying not to feel nervous.
Oh dear, I had a bad feeling about this. And I was correct. After the Sparrowhawk had gone to the gym, she called me to vent about the experience. She had to take an online test, and apparently her responses were judged too slow and who knows what else. Furthermore, they took her someplace at the hospital, rather than the DMV. She feels crushed and humiliated, and pretty mad too. She is taking refuge in the thought that perhaps she has a spare key somewhere in the house, with which she'll just drive anyway, damn the torpedoes. I feel sad about this too. Ah, heartlessly practical young people. They do what has to be done, but they don't know how much it hurts. However, I'm also relieved that now everyone knows she shouldn't drive. I'm sure it was hard for Mademoiselle, too, but she got it done.
Other than that . . . meh. Don't feel like doing much. Still. We still have lots of smoke, though I guess not as much as in New York! Enough to make my throat sore and my eyes water. I listened to some podcasts while contemplating the ruin of my garden. A faint shadow of the Lord God in Eden . . . Well, that didn't work out as I planned . . . . The Sparrowhawk finally tested negative! Hallelujah! That's why he went to the gym. While in the bookstore, I bought a map of Pennsylvania with a fairly large and detailed inset of Pittsburgh. I wanted one just of Pittsburgh, but they didn't have one. We are old and like to contemplate the total view on paper, rather than moving snippets on a too-small screen.
Madame looked well, but I fear she seemed a little diminished. I did most of the talking, as she didn't seem to have the energy to tell me any of her stories. She was having trouble with her hearing aids. And new management at the cafe is refusing to make her favorite, if off-menu, artichoke salad wrap sandwich. The nerve of them! I actually went so far as to argue with them, but they were inflexible. Madame may have been feeling distracted by the fact that she was scheduled for a driving test today. She explained that she thought they were going to make her actually drive, but then she found out it was going to be just a written test, so she was trying not to feel nervous.
Oh dear, I had a bad feeling about this. And I was correct. After the Sparrowhawk had gone to the gym, she called me to vent about the experience. She had to take an online test, and apparently her responses were judged too slow and who knows what else. Furthermore, they took her someplace at the hospital, rather than the DMV. She feels crushed and humiliated, and pretty mad too. She is taking refuge in the thought that perhaps she has a spare key somewhere in the house, with which she'll just drive anyway, damn the torpedoes. I feel sad about this too. Ah, heartlessly practical young people. They do what has to be done, but they don't know how much it hurts. However, I'm also relieved that now everyone knows she shouldn't drive. I'm sure it was hard for Mademoiselle, too, but she got it done.
Other than that . . . meh. Don't feel like doing much. Still. We still have lots of smoke, though I guess not as much as in New York! Enough to make my throat sore and my eyes water. I listened to some podcasts while contemplating the ruin of my garden. A faint shadow of the Lord God in Eden . . . Well, that didn't work out as I planned . . . . The Sparrowhawk finally tested negative! Hallelujah! That's why he went to the gym. While in the bookstore, I bought a map of Pennsylvania with a fairly large and detailed inset of Pittsburgh. I wanted one just of Pittsburgh, but they didn't have one. We are old and like to contemplate the total view on paper, rather than moving snippets on a too-small screen.
