Attempt at an Evening Out

No school today, so last night was like a weekend night. There was the pressure to do something "fun" and not just stay home and watch CSI. I decided to walk downtown to check out the first of this year's series of free outdoor concerts.

There's a bit of a trick to walking downtown, as I need to cross under the interstate and over the railroad tracks. (We have so many railroad tracks that everyone can live on the wrong side of the tracks!) The limited number of crossings of each and the year-long closing of my favorite viaduct has greatly restricted my route; the best option takes me past the bus station. About a block from the bus station a guy wearing a toga and sandals and with a towel draped around his shoulders approached me. No one ever asks me good questions in that neighborhood, so I instinctively say no. Only after the exchange did I even process what the guy asked: "Do you know where the Garden of Gesthemene is? I have to pray."

And, of course, since this is a small town, almost simultaneously people I knew drove by in a car and yelled out the window at me. Thankfully, it was real adults (not students!).

The concert venue was totally packed; I'm expecting that the fire marshal would have disapproved. It seemed that just about everyone there was either 19 years old and trying to impress other 19-year-olds or else was a parent with elementary-school-aged kids. I was thinking of leaving quickly. My decision was sealed when the first person that I recognized was someone about whom I had attended several tense meetings and to whom I have written many strongly worded memos cc'd up the chain of command. These were not my people! Certainly wasn't worth sticking around long enough so that I could walk home (past the bus station) after dark.

I left quickly and walked home just in time to watch CSI.