This weekend, my girlfriend's daughter and I are spending the weekend in Bellingham, Massachusetts, whose town motto may as well be "No, not the Bellingham in Washington." This month the town is celebrating its 300th year. We decided to go up to my old high school and check out the town fair.
I used to the enjoy the annual town fair during my high school year and summer breaks from college. They used to have a bunch of rides every year. A tilt-a-wirl, one of those centrifugal force rides that would hold you in place while it spun around. Fun times.
This year, for the town's 300th year of existence? Nothing. Not even a merry-go-round. Just a bunch of bouncy things that she didn't want to go on. They were bouncy things for young kids, too small for any teens to go on without feeling embarrassed. Which is too bad, because if she went on any of them, I would have gone too.
The lesson of Bellingham's 300th year is this: Don't get too old. Otherwise your money runs out.
Last night around eleven was more exciting. It was 11:05. I had three minutes of exercise to complete on my Apple Watch. My Apple Watch challenge for July is to get all three goals--move, exercise and stand--for all thirty-one days of the year. My Apple Watch is an asshole, so I put my shoes on and walked up the street perpendicular to my Mom's street.A childhood friend used to live there, as well as my the neighborhood Dungeon Master and several other friends of my sister. For the mos part, only the parents of those people (maybe) live there now.
I walked up the cul-de-sac, most of the houses completely dark. The one thing you almost never see in Bellingham is anyone walking on a sidewalk, if there are any sidewalks to begin with. Only the people in the newer condos on the side street go out with their dogs. That's it. I've been visiting my mother from Boston for over twenty years after a childhood of either walking, pushing my sister or biking to the town center. I'm pretty sure the last time anyone walked to the town center was me in 2000 when I stayed with my family recuperating from surgery.
I can only imagine the shock when a car rolled up to one of the driveways with a trailer in tow. Probably getting home to beat the heat wave of death. He likely stopped to stare at me, a complete stranger without a dog. And I was staring until the Apple Watch vibrated to let me know I reached my exercise goal. That snapped me out of it, and I walked home while the guy in the car no doubt called the police to report a strange man going to break and enter into my Mom's house.
Addendum: According to my Mom, liability laws are the reason why there are no rides. If a kid gets hurt, the town could get sued. Damn kids. Ruining rides for all the adults.
I used to the enjoy the annual town fair during my high school year and summer breaks from college. They used to have a bunch of rides every year. A tilt-a-wirl, one of those centrifugal force rides that would hold you in place while it spun around. Fun times.
This year, for the town's 300th year of existence? Nothing. Not even a merry-go-round. Just a bunch of bouncy things that she didn't want to go on. They were bouncy things for young kids, too small for any teens to go on without feeling embarrassed. Which is too bad, because if she went on any of them, I would have gone too.
The lesson of Bellingham's 300th year is this: Don't get too old. Otherwise your money runs out.
Last night around eleven was more exciting. It was 11:05. I had three minutes of exercise to complete on my Apple Watch. My Apple Watch challenge for July is to get all three goals--move, exercise and stand--for all thirty-one days of the year. My Apple Watch is an asshole, so I put my shoes on and walked up the street perpendicular to my Mom's street.A childhood friend used to live there, as well as my the neighborhood Dungeon Master and several other friends of my sister. For the mos part, only the parents of those people (maybe) live there now.
I walked up the cul-de-sac, most of the houses completely dark. The one thing you almost never see in Bellingham is anyone walking on a sidewalk, if there are any sidewalks to begin with. Only the people in the newer condos on the side street go out with their dogs. That's it. I've been visiting my mother from Boston for over twenty years after a childhood of either walking, pushing my sister or biking to the town center. I'm pretty sure the last time anyone walked to the town center was me in 2000 when I stayed with my family recuperating from surgery.
I can only imagine the shock when a car rolled up to one of the driveways with a trailer in tow. Probably getting home to beat the heat wave of death. He likely stopped to stare at me, a complete stranger without a dog. And I was staring until the Apple Watch vibrated to let me know I reached my exercise goal. That snapped me out of it, and I walked home while the guy in the car no doubt called the police to report a strange man going to break and enter into my Mom's house.
Addendum: According to my Mom, liability laws are the reason why there are no rides. If a kid gets hurt, the town could get sued. Damn kids. Ruining rides for all the adults.
No comments:
Post a Comment