He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.
Mike and I are on Long Island today. (I wrote “in Long Island” and Mike, the Long Islander, corrected me. I am from the South. I don’t know how to speak here.) We had a great week in Manhattan, which I will tell you about later. It involved a lot of food. And making decisions about food. And planning where we would eat our next meals. We take food very seriously. Which is okay, because we walked approximately 3,000 miles while we were in Manhattan. I wore flip flops one day. When we got back to our hotel, the bottoms of my feet were black. That is a true (and gross) story. I stuck to the Chucks after that. Even when I was wearing shorts. I did not, however, allow Mike to take any pictures of the Chucks/shorts combo. That I know of. I have not yet reviewed the pictures. If there are any, you will not get to see them. Sorry. It was not my best look. I don’t need to be made to look any shorter than I already am.
For the weekend, we went to Long Island, where Mike grew up. We stayed at his “second Mom’s” house and I got to see where he grew up and meet some of his old friends. We get to see where I grew up all the time, since my mom still lives there. We are surrounded by people who know my growing up stories. But Mike doesn’t really have that, and I think both of us miss it sometimes.
When Mike graduated, our pastor said something to his sister about the courage that it takes to reinvent yourself, and how he admires Mike for that. I thought about that this weekend, how different Mike’s life is now than it was twenty years ago when his family left Long Island, ten years ago when we were meeting, five years ago when he was starting to plan to go back to school. But he’s also the same person who lived on Long Island, walked to the grocery store for candy bars, ate pizza at Mamma Lombardi’s. We reinvent ourselves, but the past is still there, too, part of who we are. I enjoyed being introduced to the Long Island part of Mike. Even if everyone made fun of the fact that I say “grilling” instead of “barbecuing.” (Barbecue is a noun, okay? It is a specific food.)
July 21st, 2008 at
I’m glad that you got to see Mike’s old haunts. That must have been pretty awesome.
[Damn right it's a noun.]
July 21st, 2008 at
i’m still waiting on the pirate picture!
July 21st, 2008 at
The grilling/barbeque thing was difficult to adjust to coming the other way (from the north down south) as a kid. I could list the other things I got mocked for saying…bubbler? soda pop? you guys? Hehehe.
July 21st, 2008 at
What is a bubbler?
July 21st, 2008 at
Mike says bubbler is soda. (Andrea was young when she moved here, so I am guessing it’s not champagne. hehehe.)
I did notice a LOT LOT LOT of “youse” and “youse guys.” Mike said y’all. Once. He managed not to say it after they gave him a hard time.
July 21st, 2008 at
Where did youse guys eat at?
July 21st, 2008 at
A bubbler is a drinking fountain! Soda/coke is pop.
July 21st, 2008 at
Exactly. What Susan said. I got teased A LOT for bubbler when we first moved here.
July 21st, 2008 at
Barbecue (n) - tasty pork meat that has been smoked for like an eternity and chopped up. Its can be covered with a sauce (tomato based or vinegar based) put in a sandwich or eaten plain. Barbecue pairs very well with slaw and hush puppies.
Barbecue is most definitely a noun, not a verb, as in “to barbecue”.
July 21st, 2008 at
But bubbler is really only used in certain parts of the Midwest—linguistic scholars argue that it’s only from certain parts of WI, but I’ve heard it elsewhere. I grew up with it being a “drinking fountain”, and then had to deal with “water fountain” when I got to Mississippi.
What always threw me when I moved to Mississippi was that, well, I liked Coke. So when folks asked me if I wanted a coke, I wasn’t quite sure why they would then ask, “What kind?” I’d already told them!
July 21st, 2008 at
Yeah, bubbler isn’t generically ‘northern’ I don’t think - but at least WI and parts of MN, I think. My dad still slips sometimes and calls it a bubbler. (And we have never adapted to the ‘coke’ thing - my soul is repulsed by the thought - hehe)
July 22nd, 2008 at
I did my final project for my linguistics class this summer on dialects and discussed just this kind of thing - regional differences in words people use. The subject was fascinating. PBS did a documentary on it last year and has very interesting information on their website called “Do You Speak American?”
July 22nd, 2008 at
Hi Kari! I have been stalking for while, but haven’t commented because I wasn’t sure if you would remember me. Thanks for the well wishes…never been to NY! Would love to go. By the way, the letter to Jeff was amazing!
July 22nd, 2008 at
Kari,
You had a written about a goat cheese lazagna at some point. Can you email me that recipe? I am at work for the am and I don’t have your email here. If you can send it to me by this afternoon that would be wonderful. I am heading out of town in the am for a girl’s retreat and need something good to make!!
July 22nd, 2008 at
Gary: I am writing it up now, with some pictures.
Nan: Of course I remember you! I’ve been reading yours, too.
Meredith: I emailed you the recipe!
July 22nd, 2008 at
Linking up, if that is ok with you! Enjoy the rest of the trip!
July 22nd, 2008 at
Of course!