2002-04-02
Lazy Vacation Week, day two, posted at 11:00 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com My last night in South Haven. I wish I could say it was memorable.Last night, my sister and I tried to find a place to watch the Maryland/Indiana game. It was futile. She got out of work at 9pm, so we agreed to meet somewhere so I wouldn't have to miss any of the game. She suggested a new bar called York's. I'd never been there, and was game.
I arrived there, and there were about ten people there, of which I was the youngest one by far. That is, except for the bartender, who looked 15.
He carded me.
I'd never really had the experience before of walking into a bar alone and sitting at the bar by myself. I did that for about 45 minutes before Heidi finally arrived.
The bar population doubled to about 20 by the time the game was underway. There was a table of 40s-ish Indiana fans, a few sundry individuals peppered around the place, and exactly no one I knew. I had agreed to meet my sister at the bar because I figured I'd see someone I knew from high school who would be there, ready to watch the game. Few of my friends from high school would be interested in the game, I suspected, but perhaps some old aquaintances would be there. Perhaps a Cavadas would be sitting there, or a Dallas Till, or some other guy that I used to play ball with. Someone who I was never close to, but would enjoy sitting with now, eight years later, for a beer and some conversation. I could regale them with stories of Baltimore, about how I teach Juan Dixon's cousin, about how college was a grand time for me... much better than high school ever was. About how I'm a baseball coach now even though I was never much of a player. They could tell me about their experiences in the military, about their Business degree from a state school rival of my alma mater, about moving back home and taking over their dad's business. And it would be like old times, if I actually had had old times with them to reminisce about.
But, alas, I saw no one there I knew. Not one. How disconnected am I from my hometown that I know absolutely no one here?
Heidi finally arrived about halfway through the first half of the game. I was already disenchanted that the place was so dull, that no one was cheering, that what fans were there appeared to be Indiana fans. It is true that a small portion of me was rooting for the underdog Hoosiers, if only because they are a representative of the Big Ten conference that I graduated from. But my allegiance lay with Maryland. I've been terrifically swayed by the fans back in Baltimore, and they were certainly my second choice to win the tournament at the beginning (after my beloved Spartans, of course).
I convinced Heidi to hop to a different place, one with a pulse. She suggested Tello's. We drove by, and there was one car there. We checked out Cisco's afterwards. It was full of dull hicks. Clementines was closing.
Where do people in South Haven watch basketball games? Does no one care? I don't get it. I just don't.
The experience was yet another realization that living in a big city is for me, and I don't see myself ever living in a small town again. To top it off, it snowed about three inches here last night. Yes, on fucking April 1st. Ugh ugh ugh.
Today was another rather dull day. I slept in, which was nice. I then went to the local gym, which is a shithole. I paid $7 for a guest pass. It was nice to workout a bit - I hadn't lifted weights in a week - but I missed Bally's. I then went with my sister to Kalamazoo for a quick shopping trip to Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, and Kohl's. I bought this book for Eleanor for her birthday; I had gotten a gift for her earlier, but forgot it in Baltimore. Oh well. I think she'll like this better, anyway, especially since she's been talking about her quarterlife crisis she's going through right now. I think mine's passed now that I've moved, although I have noticed thoughts about it creeping into my head every now and then. Teri asked me the other day whether I planned to live in Baltimore for a long time, and the question nearly sent me into convulsions of bemused confusion.
Back to my day. The trip was okay. I enjoy spending time with my sister. We returned, where all four members of my family met at Wal-Mart for the annual family picture. This is something we never really did until about three years ago, and my dad has made it his new crusade. We're not allowed to dress up, though. It's supposed to capture us how we really are. My parents planned on purchasing a $6.88 deal for a family portrait, but ended up spending $58 on about five different poses. Walmart had them, hook, line and sinker. "Oh, we're required to take five more pictures. You don't have to purchase them." But we did.
We then went to dinner at Clementines. South Haven has no good restaurants, and only a couple of tolerable ones. Clementines is one of them, as it has one decent vegetarian entree (The Victory Garden, a grilled vegetable sandwich) and is beautiful inside. I remember going to Clementines ever since I was about six years old, so it has a lot of personal history with it as well. Dinner was okay. My family gets along best when we're gently making fun of each other. Heidi teased dad about his double chin. He said it looked like his neck was trying to blow a bubble. She then tried to use the phrase "didn't mean to burst your bubble" as often as possibly throughout the dinner. I made fun of Heidi's thin lips, telling her that if they were normal sized, then they'd call attention away from her beautiful teeth (there's a context here, as well... Heidi gets complimented on her teeth all the freaking time. It's unbelievable. We both had braces, yet hers just turned out better, I guess). Dad said that mom looked good with "all that shit rubbed your face". My Cadbury egg obsession got teased a bit.
This makes my family sound really disfunctional, which is perhaps a bit true. But they're happy. Been together 25 years, so I hope so.
I'm now ready to go to bed. Tomorrow, I'm driving to East Lansing, hopefully to see some old friends. I haven't exactly told many people that I'm coming, so some folks will be getting a surprising visitor at their door.