Going In Style

Written by Dr. Mel

Sunday, 28 August 2005

I opened my eyes to the tune of “YMCA,” and turned over to look at the clock – it said 1:17 am. One of my neighbors, the Pizza Man, a former pizzeria owner, was having another bash. I was a little disappointed that the lingering crowd at my neighbor's house could not seem to remember the tune's lyrics, but it was late, and that party was going strong since 4:00 pm when the Pizza Man's daughter arrived in a horse-drawn carriage for her wedding reception on the lawn which faced New Haven Harbor. I knew something big was about to happen on the previous day when a truck was circling our terrace with a very fancy-looking portable bathroom which maybe had no bath, but did have all the other necessities and comforts. I spoke with the driver of the truck who said with great pride that these porto-wonders come equipped with separate areas for men and women, mirrors and vanities, air conditioning, and cassette music. He did say that they are replacing the cassette players with disc players very soon because they are unable to keep up with the latest musical trends. And if that weren’t enough to convince me that this party would be big, a horse trailer arrived later with a pair of white Clydesdale-looking horses which were really French Percheron horses. The horses, Doc and Sam, were taken out of the trailer across from our house, and were stretching their legs after their long haul from a farm in Norfolk. They wore blinders which were decorated with silver hearts. The horses would soon be hitched to a wedding carriage. One of the handlers said that some weddings are so elaborate these days that they are hired to just take guests, by horse-drawn carriage, from the main festivities to those fancy outdoor porto-specials. Of course, the weather was perfect for the affair. In the meantime, the summer party and vacation season will wind up this weekend, and it has been a good summer for outdoor activities. Until the past week, and until the tropical downpours of powerful “Katrina” moved northward, rainfall has been at drought-level supply. The summer weather was so quiet that some long range weather forecasters have felt compelled to make a forecast for this winter – even before Labor Day. It's tough doing that before November, but some are calling for a rough winter. So far, the National Weather Service has us in the category of “equal chances.” They think the winter can go either way. Maybe, we should take a cue from the Pizza Man and live it up during this last party weekend of summer, even if we don’t have Percheron horses to transport us to the nearest porto-marvel.

 

< Prev		Next >