sins of the 21st century and what I'm doing about them

Sloth, Accidia  It's been a hot weekend, heavy air, and even though there are fireworks in all of the little towns out here, from the private celebrations at beachfront mansions and exclusive "bathing clubs," where the peasantry is allowed to stand in the streets or - gasp! even park - to watch, to cute little settings-off of things that go boom over rivers and bays... we were so wiped by the end of the day that we stayed in under the a/c and watched the Macy's fireworks on television. I've seen many Macy's Independence Day spectacles, from other people's offices and from good spots on the Queens side of the river, and all I can say is that each year, there's more hype and less good ole July 4th. Probably there were 19th-century curmudgeons who didn't relate to Mr Sousa's band music and would have preferred a unit of fifes and drums with their fireworks, though. See, I am trying to learn perspective.
Selfishness On the 5th, we rode out to Montauk to see which little stores and restaurants had survived the winter, check out new openings, and pick up some of Duryea's chowdah for a light meal later. This sounds like a simple plan, but Himself is always shocked and outraged to discover that other people are driving on the same road as he, and at the same time, too. I think this may have to do with his being raised as an indulged only child, he prefers not to share highways. This is amusing at times, but out here in the summer it's dangerous, because of all the Very Important People who drive Very Important Cars and come East to indulge their sense of entitlement by running red lights and ignoring stop signs and local speed limits. On the one hand, this is good for local revenue because bounty-hunting local police lurk behind those beautiful trees and high boxwood hedges. On the other hand, when safety and the normal courtesies of the road are ignored, it can be a tense ride. We make up for this by letting old cars and trucks enter roads ahead of us, waving them on while a Master of the Universe with Trophy Wifelet and a matched pair of Accessory Young fumes and races his overpowered engine behind us. See, we are practicing generosity of spirit. In our own way.
Despair  Our village prohibits share houses, but the stores are in the towns to either side of us. Every year, we are treated to the sight of people who've never bought food before (as distinguished from ordering take-out) struggling with the array of products in the local supermarkets. Even as there is a type of vacationer who goes to a restaurant to have 3 or 4 drinks before ordering food, there are summer house-mates who block shopping-cart traffic while arguing about whether all those different colored leaves are really lettuce, whether generic salad dressing is better than stuff with a fancy label, whether there is gluten in rice, and whether something called ground round is in fact chopped meat. I wish they could settle their preferences and allergies before getting lost circling in the aisles and later circling in the parking lot. Come to think of it, the last subject of food debate may in fact be a respectable inquiry, given recent scandals. See? I'm trying to be openminded.
Anger  Duryea's is a dock in Montauk where you can sit and eat, plus they have a store where you can buy fish and really good chowdah to go. It adjoins a shack that hosts a new trendy store every few years. This year's tenant was unremarkable. I entered the fish store side, and there was one group ahead of me, composed of people who didn't know what they wanted. Now there have been times when I get to the front of a line and learn that what I wanted is sold out or didn't come in, and at such times I tell the person behind me to go ahead while I figure out what I'll get instead. This group had never heard of such a custom. So while I stood there fuming, they interrogated the fish guy about the different kinds of fish, the different cuts - is a steak better than a filet? why can't you cut a flounder steak? - oh, painful. Two of the group were insisting they weren't going to eat fish anyway. 
Greed  And dinner reservations... I don't expect to have dinner in a restaurant again until after Labor Day. Lunch is a possibility. There tends to be less drunken braying at lunch, and less of a wait. See? I'm avoiding a situation that would cause me to be impatient and spiteful.
We have been invited to a party which has a dress code, it's wear your favorite t-shirt. Oh, boy.

19 comments:

  1. Too funny! Send himself to New Brunswick - we have lots of empty highway for him to drive on! We can even get him chowder!!!

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    1. hi, Wendy, thought of you when young woman in cut-offs, high-heeled gladiators, leather halter top and v. peculiar glasses asked the butcher's assistant if he knew who she was. This guy has worked for this butcher summers since he was tall enough to see over the counter and is no fool. He put on a dumb look and replied, "Um, Dr. Ruth?" Oh, did I want a friend nearby to nudge and giggle with.

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    2. Oh, that is awesome!!!!!

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  2. We are already a bit grumpy here, too; it's like Newport this year for some reason. I admire your attempts to atone for your sins in the setting of such mass obnoxiousness. MLane just swears under his breath. The number of Extremely Important People expands geometrically every year. Also, in Quebec, do arrows mean the opposite? Seems so.

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    1. hi, Lane, maybe because the change in latitude causes arrows to tilt? didn't think so.

      the worst days here are in the towns when it's rainy and cloudy and all the folks who paid a fortune to be able to go to the beach - can't.

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  3. Oh Fred, I'm not sure I could take it. The thing I like about our city is that everyone leaves in the summer to go to their cottages, it's so quiet! We don't have Wendy's empty NB highways though, oh no we never get those.
    Still it must be beautiful there even with all of those entitled people elbowing each other and acting famous!

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    1. hi, Dani, I'm probably just being possessive about our quiet little village and the broad empty beaches, absence of traffic, and accommodating restaurants that we enjoy during the off-season. it looks like a long hot summer, and that's good for the merchants, who'll have to live off it all winter.

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  4. Very funny. I think it is extraordinarily civic minded of you to drive just under the posted speed in order to protect the precious cargo ensconced in the German SUV behind you. Cheers!

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    1. hi, KnitYarns, friends who live in a neighboring village have been referring to the Montauk Highway - once a beautiful two-lane road with oceanside overlooks - as the Autobahn.

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  5. As much as we like the long summer days, there are good reasons to wish for September. Husby also does not share highways well; he is originally from your neck of the woods and has carried that grumpiness to SoCal where numerous god's gift to the world need adjustment, attitude or otherwise. Re: Master of the Universe with Trophy Wifelet and a matched pair of Accessory Young ... around here, that description would stop at a matched pair. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

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    1. TR, I live in a quiet beach town LA suburb, and those people migrate here about 8 months out of the year. The matched pairs are a year round occurrence, though you often have to wonder if there is a Throphy Wifelet replacement, or if said wife replaces her face. Confusing, to say the least!

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    2. hi, AB, Himself's (fill in mysterious large number of your choice) college reunion was like that. The men were getting bald, jowly and paunchy, while the spouses looked spiffy Nd spiffier. Finally we figured it out: version 2.0.

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  6. My BF and I did our own fireworks at some fam's home this 4th and granted the sparkles were way smaller than a pro, we had a ton of fun just doing our own thing.

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  7. Fred, I usually lurk, but this describes our little town too, especially now that school is out and all the little heirs and heiresses migrate to "our" beach to hang out at their parents's beach getaways and drive their cars. I'm from a big city, where patience is lacking, and the waves have not yet disarmed me.

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    1. We think it's been worse since the crash, because people have been travelling less and using their beach places more, and August is coming, and as we all know, "only teachers go to Europe in the summer" -- overheard at our little market. If those people - M of U and TW had a cat it would be named Hubris, with no irony.

      The good thing about jellyfish is the beach is less crowded.

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    2. And whenever any sporting event from here is shown on TV, it's always gorgeous and they'll show a shot of the sailboats in the bay. I just wish for once the golf tournaments or football games would be grey, cold and pouring rain.

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    3. because visitors are so cheerful and civil in poor weather....

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