Note of the Living Deb

First, a little discussion of the English language on official road signs, in honor of Alethiography’s Those Humorless Germans on language.

In Patrick’s neighborhood, there’s a sign that says, “GO DEAF CHILD SLOW.” That’s not totally fair because in street signs, they punctuate with line breaks:
“GO
DEAF CHILD
SLOW”

And check out the grammar on this: “CLICK IT OR TICKET.”

[understood subject]
verb
object (pronoun with no mention of the noun)
conjunction
[understood subject]
[understood verb]
[understood article]
object

I’m so glad I learned my language the easy way.

**

This morning I learned that Rodeway Inn also has the make-your-own waffle thing going on, at least this one does. I succumbed and also had a banana and orange juice. There was no protein, though.

This morning I got all ready to leave to hike up Mount Mansfield from Underhill State Park, and then decide to look up the the park to make sure it would be open. It doesn’t open for two days.

What a disappointment.

There was a booklet on the bus routes in the lobby, so I decided to take the bus to beautiful downtown Burlington.

I started at the Church Street Market, the local pedestrian mall. It was pretty boring, and I thought to myself, well, it’s just a bunch of stores. Why would I like this place?

So then I went down to the waterfront and started walking along the Burlington Bike Path and thought to myself that this is really ugly. It’s not near the water, and I passed three loud tractors. One was mowing; I’m not sure what the other two were doing. So I turned back and walked the other way. I quickly got to a point where the bike path splits off from a pedestrian path, and both had views of the lake.

I sat down on a bench and enjoyed the view and even the breeze. Then I walked some more but it all ended all too quickly. There was a map at the end, and I decided to look for a food coop that was pictured there.

That didn’t work, but meanwhile I noticed many people walking along one road, going in both directions. So, doing the opposite of the Star Trek plan to go where no man has gone before, I decided to just see where they were all going/coming from.

The answer was a university. Now I like universities as much as the next guy. More really, which is why I still work at one. But this was not an exciting find to me. I wandered back a different way. Lots of exercise, and I even got warm enough to take off my jacket.

I tried a banana-strawberry smoothie at Dunkin’ Donuts. I watched as it was being made. First, some red syrup went in. Then some white goo. Then some white fluff. Then the whole thing was mixed, which gave it more volume. The poster said it was made with fruit and yogurt. So the red syrup could have been a fruit blend. With maybe all the fiber strained out. And sugar syrup added. So the white goo was the yogurt, then. And the white fluff, I really don’t know. Tiny crushed ice? I won’t be getting that again. Yummy, though.

And then I found that coop store I’d been looking for. Only cookies called to me, so I didn’t buy anything.

And then I was back at Church Street. It’s a whole different thing once all the stores actually open. My favorite was the cart selling things you throw, like juggling balls and pins. They were apparently letting just anyone sample the products. I also liked the people singing and playing violin and harp. And I liked the smell of the oriental dumplings so much that I got some. Five for $3. A good bargain.

To eat them, I sat on a bench next to a woman who soon left. Then a couple sat down with their tiny poodles. They had been carrying their dogs in little front packs like we used to carry my sister. And now they were being set free.

I also bought two things. Yes, it’s true! I found a two-cup measuring cup with all the measurements raised in the texture of the glass. I like this because it takes longer to wear down than when it’s done with paint.

The other thing I bought is a detective board game. It’s for two to eight players, but no matter how many players you have, you only get a certain amount of money, a certain number of clues, a certain number of red herrings and other obstacles.

When I got back to the hotel, I played the game three times. It seems like it could be fun. You have to work together to solve the crime before you run out of money, or everyone loses! You get to use a little strategy and a little creativity. So, it’s not the greatest game in the world, but for one recommended for ages 8 and up (oops, I usually check for that), Investigators is totally awesome.

Tonight, PBS has been trying to teach me about what it’s like to be a teenager in Vermont (What About Teens?). I don’t think I learned anything.