Over the weekend 2

Electric hoobajoob.

Well, not really.

Catching the train back from having beers my betrothed buddy, I found the train car unusually full for the late hour. All the same, I found a three seater to myself and settled in for the ride. Just as the conductor gave the last call for all aboard, a middle aged fellow stumbles in and pops down in the aisle seat after politely asking and me granting permission for him to take the seat. He appeared exhausted and a little disheveled. He didn't smell of alcohol (but I might have), so I wasn't too bothered one way or the other.

The guy opens his canvas briefcase and pulls out a bunch of news papers. He rifles through a couple of the local rags. I don't pay much attention. A New Yorker article is holding my interest and almost keeping me awake and then I notice that my fellow traveler is reading the Washington Post. Its not that someone reading the Post in and of itself is strange. Seeing the paper on the NJT is like seeing a Clinton poster at an Obama rally.

Being post beer buzz but still relaxed, I had to ask why he was reading the Post. He replied that he was a newspaper guy. Brevity being the soul of wit, I'll just try and re-create the dialogue.

Traveler: I'm a newspaper guy.
BD: Oh yeah? What rag?
News Paper Guy (NPG): The Times.
BD: The New York Times?
NPG: Yeah.
BD: What do you do?
NPG: I'm an editor for the sports section.
BD: Really? Nice! Good section. Never short of material.
NPG: Right.
-pause-
NPG: What news paper do you read.
BD: I read the Times. Online mostly. Love it.
NPG: Oh good! Sports?
BD: Not so much. Though, when I do feel the need to know, the Times sorts me out.
NPG: Well, good. I guess. [half giggle]
-pause-
BD: Not to offend, but in the spirit of constructive criticism... I have a friend of the family who is a big Browns and Indians fan. When she visits us, she insists on getting USA Today. Says your section stinks.
NPG: Well, you can't please everyone. [beat] And its the Browns and Indians. C'mon!
BD: Right? [forced giggle]
NPG: Uh, pardon me, but I kinda have to read the paper now.
BD: No problem. No problem at all. You're nice to talk to me. Enjoy.

-about five minutes pass-

NPG: Say, what did you think of our endorsements?
BD: Uh, not surprising? I didn't really agree with them, but they weren't offensive either.
NPG: Just curious.
BD: Sure.
-pause-
BD: Did you agree with them? Hillary and McCain?
NPG: No. No. There was a lot of back and forth before the endorsement came out. I mean, it makes sense since she's our state senator and all. But, if you were to take a vote of all the staff for the paper, I think Obama would win. Hands down.
BD: Really! So, it sounds like it was sort of a top down kind of decision?
NPG: Yeah. You could say that. People support her, but the guys at the top made a political decision. It was theirs to make, I guess.
BD: So, a lot of people don't agree with Krugman?
NPG: Not really. I wouldn't say he's popular in the office right now.
BD: Sure.
NPG: And McCain... I rode in an elevator with him a few months back. The guy just looks old. Old! And, you know, he can't raise his arms past here [raises left elbow approximately 90 degrees from his hip]
BD: Really? I've noticed his arms seem kind of, well, restricted.
NPG: Yeah. I know he looks different on TV, but in person... Wow.
BD: So, is it the kind of thing that we might see a picture in the paper one day like the one taken of Dole when he fell?
NPG: [nodding] I wouldn't be surprised.
BD: Neither would I. I guess. But at least he pisses the majority of the Republican establishment off. That, at least, will keep the race interesting.
NPG: [nodding] Yeah. We can hope.
-pause-
NPG: Gonna read. [motions to paper]
BD: No problem.

-another two minutes pass-

Train Conductor over the loudspeaker: Now arriving at Bay Street. Bay Street. This is Bay Street. Bay Street.

- train begins to move-

BD: Next stop's mine.
NPG: Yeah? You live in College Suburbville?
BD: Not quite. Suburbia. So practically.
NPG: Right. How long?
BD: Just moved over from Brooklyn in September. How long have you been doing this commute?
NPG: A while. We have twin ten-year-old girls. Moved from the City for them.
BD: Wow! I bet you've got your hands full. Identical?
NPG: Yeah. But they're good kids. Fraternal. Really smart, but in very different ways. One's organized and methodical. The other's sort of scattered but picks stuff up really quickly. They balance each other out. How 'bout you?
BD: Just one. For now. Maybe. 18 months old. A handfull. We kinda moved out here for him too. Now he's running all over creation, making as much noise as possible. Trying to talk.

Train Conductor over the loudspeaker: Now arriving at Walnut Street. Walnut Street. This is Walnut Street. Walnut Street.

BD: Ok. Have a good night. Good luck with everything.
NPG: Yeah. Thanks. You too.
BD: Thanks. And thanks for talking to me. I know how busy you guys are, so that was nice of you. Have a good night. See you around. Maybe.
NPG: Yeah. See you around.

-scene-

Moral of the story: Don't proffer constructive criticism to anyone after you've been drinking.

From the blogroll

• ALa is freaking me out. And not just because she watched Tyra Banks.
• Saint McCain is unclean. (via DCeiver)
• FDH is frustrating me w/ their exquisite minimalism.
• D.A.U. give a countdown and opines for fondue.
• Get your mulch on. Way to go Mike!
• Hillary gets another barrage from the left.
• Expanding your vocabulary.
• Hillary (effectively) strikes back.
• When I was 12, having a Schwinn was awesome. 20 years later, it is again.
• Edible landscape. Mmmmmm. (via planetgreen)
• I'm shocked! Shocked to find diabetes in Canadian suburbia!
• There has to be a petroleum jelly joke in here somewhere.
• Of Obama, criticism and the (green) punditocracy eating its tail.
• My suburbia needs a SLUT.
• Good shit.
• Soft bigotry? No!
• I'd be happy to be wrong. Dream ticket?
• More on McGovern from this Sunday.
• The NYT gets its first Fair and Balanced printing. (via HuffPo)
• Joe Klein smokes crack?
• Andrew Sullivan wears his swami hat.
• Evil genius. (via M4H)

Good Quote

Via Apartment Therapy:

In the West, you have bigger homes, yet smaller families; you have endless conveniences -- yet you never seem to have any time. You can travel anywhere in the world, yet you don't bother to cross the road to meet your neighbors...I don't think people have become more selfish, but their lives have become easier and that has spoiled them. They have less resilience, they expect more, they constantly compare themselves to others and they have too much choice -- which brings no real freedom.

H.H. Dalai Lama

Obviously, this has been said many times, many ways by many different people. It has become more true for me as we've moved to Suburbia so as to get more space for the fam, but as a result, I have less time to spend with them. Ahh, suburbia.

I just thought it was poignant given the holiday season of giving.

Early Indoctrination

© BDeviant 2007

BFD in the backyard. Ahh, suburbia.

An Odd Thing

Now that the Deviants have relocated to suburbia, things in our day to day lives have obviously changed. I didn't realize exactly how much until just a few minutes ago. About a year and a half ago, I bought a composter for our roof deck in Brooklyn. This was to save trips to the garbage five flights of stairs down in the alley behind our building. That and I garden.

So, it was just a functional thing. Out here in the burbs, I've got ample fodder with witch to compost in earnest. Bearing that in mind, I just went out to the back yard to put some kitchen scraps into it. When I opened the hatch, I saw maggots. I was actually excited if only for the fact that this meant things were actually breaking down and I'd have viable soil material a little further down the line.

Its just an odd thing that I got excited over this. Life is strange outside the city.