SWEET OLD LADIES, MEAN OLD LADIES, AND JUST A HIRE A GOD DAMN VACATION STAFF
i had an absolutely hilarious weekend last week— i left work friday to go hang with papasan for the night. we planned on playing chess and tidying up his studio, but we really ended up crushing some chicken patties & discussing various theories around the ukraine debacle.
on saturday morning, Joe Fish and I hopped in his brand new KIA Seltos (it’s a mom SUV but also a 29 year old man who just bought a house SUV) and headed across town to scoop papasan for what was about to be the mission of a lifetime. a few weeks back, i walked into his house and what he had laying out were two Captain Action figures from 1998— the lone ranger & tonto. in total awe, i instantly did a quick eBay search but came up with nothing. a day later, my dad sent me a text with an eBay link. somebody was selling EIGHT of these figures just a mere 30 minutes away.
and so, i talked my two colleagues into splitting the 4 I wasn’t interested in— I ended up with Ming the Merciless, Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger, and Tonto.
Anyways— We set out on the maiden voyage and let me tell you something: that car is FANTASTIC. i felt like i was living in absolute luxury, straight business class — i would set up shop and open a hat store out the back of it. We rode 395 all the way to Connecticut where the seller gave us intricate instructions. We pulled into the driveway and rang the doorbell. The sweetest woman came out with our grown-ass man dolls, ecstatic that we made it in one piece. She reminded me of a very STEREOTYPICAL aunt that you absolutely adore— you know, the one who gives you $100 every time she sees you. Except she didn’t give me $100. She took all of our money.
man, these things are cool
i won’t go into too much detail, but the entire interaction was hilarious and it ended up lasting much longer than we had anticipated (she was a talker)— but man, i would have stayed for coffee. We ended up heading over to Putnam where we stopped at various antique shops & comic stores— We headed home as we loosely planned sundays adventure.
Sunday was absolutely marvelous— I met Papasan at his house, as we had planned to meet Joe Fish and his gal Kate at CHARLIE'S Diner in Spencer. 3 minutes before we arrived, Joe had sent us a text “On vacation.” — Sure enough, They were closed. As the Fish men are to do, we all yelled the same complaint in unison “Why the hell wouldn’t you hire a staff when you’re on vacation?!”
A minute of time wasted, but at least we’re all on the same page. Joe Fish promptly suggests EB Flatts, a little ways down the road in Brookfield. We formed a convoy and drove down route 9— Kate walked in first and gave her name as we walked in behind her. Now, This is all speculation, but something happened in the two minutes that occurred before the three of us were present— but to this day (4 days later) neither Kate, Myself, Joe Fish, or Papasan know what it was, but the hostess had it out for us.
20 minutes passed, and the hostess called our name— as she began walking towards a table, menus in hand, she stopped to talk to a friend. looking like children lost on a school field trip at the zoo, we decided to just pick a table. apparently, that was the wrong decision to make. our waitress came over & was already incredibly rude. we explained the situation to her & she rolled her eyes. again, i’ll spare the details but she came back & started talking smack— words were exchanged, it ended with a “i know that look. that is a spit in my coffee look” and we marched on out of there.
the field trip would continue on— it HAD to continue on. we’re now 90 minutes & 2 restaurants into finding breakfast. we opted to head to sturbridge with the original plan to eat at a place called soup to nuts (i was not on board, but i was getting desperate.) We radioed back to Joey bag o donuts via cell phone our planned destination— two changes of plans on the ride down 49, and we finally got to the Cedar Street Cafe. The breakfast was incredible, the coffee was great, and the service was excellent. That place is honestly 4.5 stars— the only downside is the open seating plan. You’re not guaranteed a table when you order, so there’s a chance you end up looking like the lost kid on a field trip.
we wrapped up breakfast and headed home— we discussed more of ukraine as we zooted down the backroads of spencer and paxton. I helped papasan clean up his studio a bit & we tidied up his basement before parting ways from an incredibly memorable weekend— certainly one for the books.
