MY BEST LAID PLANS

Yesterday was so beautiful I became inspired and mentioned to the Little Woman that we should pack a lunch and drive out to the North Shore of Long Island and stop at a winery for a few samples, find a shady spot to spread a blanket and have lunch, and maybe look for a beach where we could just lay on the sand and hear the roar of the ocean while smelling the salty water. I thought that maybe we could take the time just for ourselves, forgetting work and any children that needed attention. The Little Woman jumped on the idea like a cat on a hot tin roof.

As we began our trip I became suspicious as we headed east on the LIE, and I was directed to take the last exit. This exit if not careful can lead you to the Tangier Shopping Mall. I started looking for the vineyards of the North Fork, but all I could see was liquor stores with specials hanging in their large windows. Undeterred, I started to look for a small grassy spot where we could lay a blanket out and eat a pick nick lunch, when I realized we didn’t bring any lunch. Instead I found an overhead shelter made of concrete that overlooked the parking lot of the Mall, where I sat while the Little Woman went into some of the stores. The beach you ask? Well there was a vending machine that sold mineral water, ice cold.

Some how, we had screwed up the master plan and took what was in store for us. That is to say every woman’s store in the Tangier Shopping Mall in Riverhead. Included in this array of romantic stops where at least two linen stores. I figured maybe she was buying silk sheets, but no, she was buying pillows for her baby.

In all fairness to the Little Woman, she and I had a commitment for later that afternoon, so my plans weren’t practical. Call us Sputnik and Explorer for the two satellites of the 50’s that dominated the news, as we revolve around #2 son until he gets his driver’s license. AOK?