I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say pterodactlys never wore clothes...
So I made the journey to Chevy Chase on Sunday and got to the destination restaurant to meet with my family--in one piece! (Ba-dah!) There, I was able to wish my Dad and Granddad a Happy Father's Day. The food was okay, but waaay overpriced. Had decent smoked salmon and mini-bagel for first course (didn’t realize it would come...raw), then ho-hum chicken for second course and poached pair with a chocolate sauce and two scoops of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Definitely the highlight of the meal was the pear. That’s right; a whole sentence was just devoted to dessert.
We all went back to my Granddad's house afterwards and made idle chatter for a while, and basked in those terribly awkward silences between the small talk. Can't do anything about them, those silences. Just have to endure them and wait for someone to say something. It's a strange little black hole you slip into when those silences occur, isn't it? Perhaps something funny was said. The group laughs, a few side comments are made, a few more chuckles are eeked out and then it begins to slow, and fade. Like the dying applause at the end of a rinky-dink talent show act. And then it happens: the group enters a seemingly never-ending expanse of silence. Time slows...stretches on for eternity. You can look down at your feet and smile a bit, either genuinely due to bemusement or a bit forcibly, pretending you are still musing over the previously said joke or story. Then, perhaps, someone clears their throat. That's a subconscious cue that someone else should say something. If the throat clearing is ignored, someone else nods their head and “Mm”s, as if in agreement. Agreement of what, the dying conversation? In rare cases, another comment about the last topic will slip from someone’s lips, but will go largely ignored. Then someone else may let out a light sigh: another cue. In sigh language, not to be confused with sign language, this all translates roughly to: For the love of God, will someone PLEASE speak? Finally, someone will. It's usually the most mundane or out there, most ridiculous topic--"I hear Andre Agassi likes corn..."--but everyone in the group will greedily attach themselves to the silence-breaker, clinging onto the comment like lint to your best, black dress slacks. It’s a piece of driftwood in a sea of silence. "Corn? Really? I love corn." "I was raised on corn." "Mm...corn." “How do you eat your corn?” "I'm hungry? Anyone up for some corn?" "I've been craving corn." "That Andre--talk about a rough time he's been having in games, lately!" "Did you hear about the US Open the other day...?" Oh, those silences. Like the changing of records; picking up and dropping the needle.
Then, heaven forbid, there be a silence at the end of a SERIOUS topic. A sad one, even. Egh. In such a situation, the same basic procedure as just described is followed, but in place of dying chuckles are the what-a-shames and mm-so-sads while everyone bows their heads as an apparent sorrowful gesture, as opposed to comedic appreciation. Little tsks and throaty sounds of appreciation are thrown in there quite often. At that point, the conversation can either take a sudden upswing for the better -“Have I mentioned how great [insert popular movie title here] was?” - OR someone can decide to go deeper...darker, delving further into the rocky, cavernous world of depressing stories. After much of that, there’s really only room for someone to mention how depressing the conversation has gotten, allowing for a splash of much needed comic relief, and the topic to then be switched to something, anything, more lighthearted. As humans, at a base level we’re not very good at being depressed all of the time. We’re meant to experience highs and lows. It’s a good thing. It’s healthy.
After lunch I went to my Dad's and stayed there. I’ve been there for the past couple of days. Just got back home earlier this evening. Monday, something weird went wrong with the water pump and earlier today learned it was a wiring problem. I was woefully un-bathed for half of the day and then took a mini-bath in a neighbor’s boiled hose water when I couldn’t take it anymore. O shower, where art thou? Then it got fixed the next day, so yays for that. Talked with my Dad a bit, which was nice. Played Trivial Pursuit, and was one piece away when my Dad won. I’m simply atrocious at historical questions. Darn you, yellow! I wasn’t anywhere close to winning when it came to that pie piece lol.
It's been nice being back home, if even for just a bit. Missed my Mom.
Anywho, I’m going to catch the AMTRAK and Metro tomorrow morning/afternoon and make my way to my Granddad’s. Then, after I stay the night there, I’m going to hop on a bus with my Aunt and we’ll make our way to Enn Why See. Once there, gloriousness shall ensue. I’ll get home on the 29th, I hope, and then Amy’s coming down from then until the 30th. Then, I suppose things’ll get back to normal. Hurrah! Anywho, I’ve got to get to sleep. Le train in ze morning.
By the way, hi Chris! I love you.