Today, I have two burning questions for the universe:
QUESTION 1: Why does Franklin have a pizza shop on every single corner?
Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against pizza. I fully support cheesiness in all forms, both figurative and literal! But what about sandwiches, hot dogs, or falafel? (And no, that doesn't count as a second question.) There are two pizza places a stone's throw from my own front door and three within a stone's throw of FSPA. And when I say "a stone's throw," I mean exactly as far as I could throw a stone myself. . .which is not a great distance. Trust me. (I may have muscular piano fingers, but upper arm strength? Lacking. If only I were a cellist!) But back to the point (I think): Pizza is to Franklin as Dunkin Donuts is to Boston. Why?
Do pizza and Franklin have a history together? Pizza and I are certainly beginning to! It doesn't help that frozen pizza was just on sale at Shaw's. (Don't worry, Mom; I'm also drinking smoothies and taking my vitamins. Ask Kristine. I made her drink chromium, biotin, and spinach in liquid form yesterday. . .and then offered her a cupcake.) Speaking of cupcakes, I went on a short walk this afternoon and somehow ended up back home with two cupcakes from the Cake Bar: sticky toffee for Kay (no dietary restrictions for this 82-year-old woman!), and pink velvet for. . . No!! Stop!!! I refuse to keep getting sidetracked!!!!
QUESTION 2: Why am I so easily sidetracked?
I must have a tangential mind. I also have a very tangential way of checking things off my list of to do's. ("Oh, I need to do this. . .which reminds me of that. . .so maybe I'll work on that a bit while bouncing between this and this. . .") I really thought I was simplifying my life when I moved to Franklin, but somehow things have become as busy as ever. It's a good thing I enjoy it (both the life and the busyness). Confession: At this very moment, I am checking one "to do" off my list ("Update Blog") while panning between an OpenOffice screen ("Revise WEAVER Script") and Sibelius window ("Write Accompaniment for New Song"). . .all while intermittently googling things like "How many instruments are in a typical Broadway pit?" and "Did General Stores exist in the early 1800s?" And we come full circle: Why am I so easily sidetracked? :-)
In addition to my two questions, I would like to make two completely unrelated observations:
OBSERVATION 1: Being a pedestrian in a suburban area is fantastic.
I can hum everywhere I go without disturbing a soul! (I prefer humming to whistling. It feels more substantive. Also, I don't actually know how to whistle.) I can zip down the sidewalks on my bicycle too - something I could never do back in Boston. (Just imagine the chaos that would ensue if I tried that on a sidewalk in Harvard Square!) I can even leave my bicycle unchained outside a store and come back to find it untouched. (Don't worry; I won't push my luck on that one.)
OBSERVATION 2: 4 out of 10 people accept free cookies.
The remaining 6 are gracious in their refusal. These statistics are most reliable if said cookie-offering occurs in Shaw's grocery store around 9 PM, if the cookies are taken from a big bowl left by the bakery, and if the distributors of these cookies have names beginning in "B" or "E." My name happens to begin with an "E," and I can back these statistics personally. It all began when my friend, "B," noticed a big bowl of cookies at the bakery. "Let's eat one," she suggested. So we did. Then we ate two. Or possibly even three. "What a shame that no one else in this wide expanse of store has noticed these delicious and free cookies," I noted. "B" had the solution. "Put the bowl in the cart! We're bringing these cookies to the people!" And so we did. Even though only 4 of 10 people left Shaw's that night with a cookie in hand, 10 out of 10 left with a smile and a good story to tell.
And that, my friends, is something worth writing about!
