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Lisa's |
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Today, it snowed.
Actually, it started late last night, after nearly two days of almost
continuous cold rain. I had a lousy
night’s sleep due to my anticipation of what I’d wake up to.
I kept looking out my bedroom window, as if I could control the outcome
by monitoring its progression. As
part of my obsession, I switched from one radio station to the next; searching
for a weather forecast I’d be satisfied with.
There weren’t any. I
basically heard anywhere form three to twelve inches as the cumulative figure.
As it turned out, six inches fell, taking me forty-five minutes to shovel
the driveway and sidewalk. That’s
a record, considering my shovel is about the size of a large spoon.
Normally, I wouldn’t be as concerned, however, I had good reason. My sister, Jane, hadn’t visited New York in close to
four years, until now, today. She
was scheduled to fly into Long Island, NY at approximately 12:40 pm.
So, I called the airport this morning to confirm the flight.
Her plane, originating from Sacramento, CA, was to make two connecting
flights prior to landing in New York. First,
she arrived in Dallas with no problem. Next,
she was to travel to Boston; that flight was cancelled due to weather
conditions. Great.
I figured she’d be stuck in Dallas overnight.
Luckily, a few hours later, she caught an alternate flight to Boston, and
ultimately landed in New York at 4:30 pm. Not
too bad, it could have been a lot worse. Although Jane came here to visit relatives and friends,
another important reason was to do this: Eat.
When we arrived home from the airport, we ordered two large cheese pizza
pies to be delivered. According to
Jane, good pizza is difficult to come by where she lives, and if you do, it’s
very expensive. We each had a few
slices and there are plenty of leftovers. I
love leftover pizza for breakfast, especially cold, right out of the
refrigerator. This isn’t a “New
York thing”, it’s just me. For
the next nine days, all we’ll be doing is eating various foods she can’t get
as easily in California. I’d
better walk an hour on my treadmill for just thinking about all the calories on
my dish ahead! My sister has been made aware of my domestic
shortcomings. I told her that I
plan on feeding her delicious home cooked meals…at the diner. She laughed, but doesn’t mind.
Good food is good food. If I
can’t cook it up for her, someone else can. There’s one thing I always found difficult about
visiting friends and relatives across the miles.
Although the person or persons visiting are on vacation, the ones being
visited usually are not. In other
words, it’s business as usual for the host or hosts. Certainly, I am making some accommodations, however, I’ve
still got my routine to adhere to. She
understands. It’s not until I
entertain guests do I realize what a boring life I lead.
A mix of restaurants, shopping malls, and visits to loved ones should
occupy most of Jane’s time. In
between events, the worst that may happen is we sit and stare at each other at a
loss for words. We’d survive. Hopefully, her departure will be a simple and smooth
one, absent of abundant snow accumulation.
I won’t worry about that now; it’s too soon and anything could
happen. Look, if need be, we’ll
both shovel our way out of the driveway. I’ve
got an extra spoon.
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