A Puerto Rican Girl in Tight Jeans
Down New Park Avenue just past Our Lady of Sorrows the Super Stop and Shop sits where the old Royal Typewriter plant once stood. Stop and Shop tore down that old building after a fire ripped through it a few years ago. Those old factories burn hot and fast and long, consuming everything. There had been dreams of reusing the stately, aged edifice as apartments, perhaps. Those dreams died in that fire. So Stop and Shop, looking to replace their Frog Hollow store with a Super Stop and Shop, bought the land instead.
I like Stop and Shop anyway but I like them even better because they're willing to build in the city and not just in the more affluent suburbs. City dwellers need groceries too and they need a store that's on a busline like this one. West Hartford residents from the Elmwood section of West Hartford make their way to this store too. We're not far from the town line. And we're all here tonight. The place is mobbed.
The Salvation Army bellringer is out front. I empty my pocket of it's spare change. "Thankyou, have a happy Thanksgiving."
I don't need much "Thanksgiving-wise". I'm going over to dad's tomorrow. There'll be a crowd there. He has most of it covered. I offered to bring a pecan pie but he asked me to bring some beer instead. I already have the beer but maybe I can score some of that pie too. They had a table full of pies last Saturday. There's the table. Let's see. Apple and pumpkin and apple and... pumpkin and... that's it! No pecan pie! And not much of anything else either. Such a failure of imagination! No sense buying one of these. There will plenty of apple and pumpkin pie at dad's tomorrow.
I have my iPod on. It's set to shuffle the songs but for some reason it keeps playing Social Distortion. Not that I'm complaining, it's plenty cool. It's just kind of odd. Three of the last four songs have been by them... "Take away this ball and chain / I'm lonely and I'm dying / and I can't take anymore pain..." I guess this is the soundtrack for my evening... "Let it be me / If you're lonely / Let it be me / Your one and only..."
I wander down the left side of the store for some bread then to the back for some milk and orange juice. What's this? Suzy Bogguss? I like this too... "Blow wind blow / and set me free / a storm called love / has made a wreck of me..." Over to the other side to the deli counter... "I'm tossed and turned / I'm in the dark / All my dreams / have been torn apart / At the bottom / of my deep blue heart..." The produce section is next to the deli. What else do I need? I know I'm forgetting something. Oh well. I'll make a break for the parking lot anyway.
I like those new self service registers they finally installed here but if there's a line, it's quicker to just let one of their checkers ring it up. They usually have their best people on when it's busy like this and the bald bilingual guy at register three is one of them. I'm two back in the line and I sneeze twice. He tears off a paper towel and hands it to the customer ahead of me to hand to me. Hot Tuna is now playing "Death Don't Have No Mercy". Oh my! Is that hispanic chick at the next register looking over her shoulder, checking me out? She's way too young but those jeans! There ought to be a law, I tell you! How does a guy not stare at that? Mojo Nixon is singing "Are you drinking with me Jesus?"
Out to the car. We had a fairly good sized snowstorm that started last night and lasted on into the morning - four to six inches around here. Driving down Warrenton earlier, the overhanging branches fatter and painted white, there are few things as pretty as that. The snow stopped sometime late in the morning or early in the afternoon and promptly started to melt. If you had shoveled your walk, it is now bare and dry. The sun has now set. The temperature has dropped. The snow that was wet as it fell crunches icily underfoot. Robert Smith of The Cure is singing, "Just a second of your time / Any one will do / The taste of any 'other' / Is all I want from you / Offer me the world / And how can I resist / something more than this?"
Sometimes you just feel a little more alive. This is one of those times.
[ 11-27-2002: Message edited by: spaceman_spiff ]</p>
I like Stop and Shop anyway but I like them even better because they're willing to build in the city and not just in the more affluent suburbs. City dwellers need groceries too and they need a store that's on a busline like this one. West Hartford residents from the Elmwood section of West Hartford make their way to this store too. We're not far from the town line. And we're all here tonight. The place is mobbed.
The Salvation Army bellringer is out front. I empty my pocket of it's spare change. "Thankyou, have a happy Thanksgiving."
I don't need much "Thanksgiving-wise". I'm going over to dad's tomorrow. There'll be a crowd there. He has most of it covered. I offered to bring a pecan pie but he asked me to bring some beer instead. I already have the beer but maybe I can score some of that pie too. They had a table full of pies last Saturday. There's the table. Let's see. Apple and pumpkin and apple and... pumpkin and... that's it! No pecan pie! And not much of anything else either. Such a failure of imagination! No sense buying one of these. There will plenty of apple and pumpkin pie at dad's tomorrow.
I have my iPod on. It's set to shuffle the songs but for some reason it keeps playing Social Distortion. Not that I'm complaining, it's plenty cool. It's just kind of odd. Three of the last four songs have been by them... "Take away this ball and chain / I'm lonely and I'm dying / and I can't take anymore pain..." I guess this is the soundtrack for my evening... "Let it be me / If you're lonely / Let it be me / Your one and only..."
I wander down the left side of the store for some bread then to the back for some milk and orange juice. What's this? Suzy Bogguss? I like this too... "Blow wind blow / and set me free / a storm called love / has made a wreck of me..." Over to the other side to the deli counter... "I'm tossed and turned / I'm in the dark / All my dreams / have been torn apart / At the bottom / of my deep blue heart..." The produce section is next to the deli. What else do I need? I know I'm forgetting something. Oh well. I'll make a break for the parking lot anyway.
I like those new self service registers they finally installed here but if there's a line, it's quicker to just let one of their checkers ring it up. They usually have their best people on when it's busy like this and the bald bilingual guy at register three is one of them. I'm two back in the line and I sneeze twice. He tears off a paper towel and hands it to the customer ahead of me to hand to me. Hot Tuna is now playing "Death Don't Have No Mercy". Oh my! Is that hispanic chick at the next register looking over her shoulder, checking me out? She's way too young but those jeans! There ought to be a law, I tell you! How does a guy not stare at that? Mojo Nixon is singing "Are you drinking with me Jesus?"
Out to the car. We had a fairly good sized snowstorm that started last night and lasted on into the morning - four to six inches around here. Driving down Warrenton earlier, the overhanging branches fatter and painted white, there are few things as pretty as that. The snow stopped sometime late in the morning or early in the afternoon and promptly started to melt. If you had shoveled your walk, it is now bare and dry. The sun has now set. The temperature has dropped. The snow that was wet as it fell crunches icily underfoot. Robert Smith of The Cure is singing, "Just a second of your time / Any one will do / The taste of any 'other' / Is all I want from you / Offer me the world / And how can I resist / something more than this?"
Sometimes you just feel a little more alive. This is one of those times.
[ 11-27-2002: Message edited by: spaceman_spiff ]</p>
Comments
<strong>Thanks for painting the picture Spiff.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Thank you
[quote]Originally posted by sizzle chest:
<strong>The same exact thing just happened to me, Spaceman.</strong><hr></blockquote>
... Well, I've been haunted in my sleep
You've been starring in my dreams
Lord I miss you
I've been waiting in the hall
Been waiting on your call
When the phone rings
It's just some friends of mine that say,
"Hey, what's the matter man?
We're gonna come around at twelve
With some Puerto Rican girls that are just dyin' to meet you.
We're gonna bring a case of wine
Hey, let's go mess and fool around
You know, like we used to...
Anyways your's was better than all the other stuff, wife included don't tell her, that I've read.
Sell i Sabbah! Sell i Sabbah!
(wanker)
This, spaceman_spiff, is a compliment.
I gotta get me an iPod.
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
For those living in the NE, continue to support your local Stop & Shop, ShopRite, Shaws, and PathMart even when Walmart rolls in with their super centers.
<strong>
This, spaceman_spiff, is a compliment.
Awww, shucks.
<strong>Define: "way too young"</strong><hr></blockquote>
the age of groverat
<strong>
the age of groverat</strong><hr></blockquote>
uh, uh. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> 't Is the age groverat likes 'em best at.
<strong>Define: "way too young"</strong><hr></blockquote>
Don't know - maybe 19. I doubt she was any older than 20 or so. Way too young for me but certainly old enough to turn heads.
19 is just fine for me.
<strong>I am 21.
19 is just fine for me.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It's hard to say about this stuff. There was this girl last summer. She worked at a Dunkin' Donuts that I used to stop at on my way to work every day. I knew she was too young but she was just so-o-o-o freaking hot I had to make a play. I was thinking and hoping she was at least 21 or 22. So we go out and she says, "You know, I'll be 19 next month." She honestly didn't look that young. It's cool that a girl who is half my age would want to date me but it's not the kind of thing I want to make a habit of doing.
<strong>It's hard to say about this stuff. There was this girl last summer. She worked at a Dunkin' Donuts that I used to stop at on my way to work every day. I knew she was too young but she was just so-o-o-o freaking hot I had to make a play. I was thinking and hoping she was at least 21 or 22. So we go out and she says, "You know, I'll be 19 next month." She honestly didn't look that young. It's cool that a girl who is half my age would want to date me but it's not the kind of thing I want to make a habit of doing.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Jeez, I was thinking you were going to say she was 15 or something!