Home, James

July 9 - 14,  2014 (wrote this over several days)

Yesterday L said to me, “Do you ever imagine what your life would be like if you didn’t have to take me to rehearsal and wait around all those hours?”  

His point was that he wanted me to take him to a mall in East Brunswick instead.  From that mall he would get a ride to rehearsal from somebody in the show (a girl) and I’d just have to show up at the end of rehearsal to pick him up.

I said, “okay,” but then I remembered Hi- – to whom we give a ride every day.  So, L contacted Hi and he said he would go to the mall too. 

It was getting complicated, but seemed it could work.  Still I could tell that something wasn’t right.  

In the first place L wasn’t 100% sure which mall and we figured it out through process of elimination, but I’m not sure why he couldn’t just touch base with the girl to make sure. 

   L texted the girl  from our car that we were running a little late (in other words, he did have a way to contact her).  

Anyway, we got to the mall and I parked my car in a visible spot and told L and Hi that as long as they saw the car there, I was hanging out in Barnes and Nobel.  I thought I'd just enjoy some time with books and in air conditioning, since it was a hot day.

Five minutes later (I hadn’t even got past the case of cheapo books in the vestibule), L found me and told me he had a problem.  It turned out that they did NOT have a ride to practice.  Instead, apparently all of them would need a ride from the mall to rehearsal....

My options were say no and take L and Hi back home with me or say yes, but extract a concession from L: no internet the next day so that he would move forward with some of his projects. 

 I rushed home to get some things done in what was left of the day.  H didn’t go with me to practice because we didn't know if there would be room in the car - but really I think he was super happy to stay home, partly because the world cup match wasn’t over when I left and partly because that drive to rehearsal (and the wait) is getting old. . ..

The good news is that last week H and I took a walk during rehearsal and we discovered that the public library is just really close to the rehearsals.  I've been waiting in a supermarket that has some tables (and a starbucks) inside, but it's been so freezing and there's no shade outside to wait during the day.  

OK.  

Gotto go pick up L from college orientation (20 miles) and then take him to... rehearsal  which isn't that far at all - about a half hour.  It's just far enough that I say, if I drive there and back and there and back I'm using double the gas and also I've spent two plus hours of my day driving.  

Seriously, the kid has been talking about getting his drivers permit but then doesn't do it. ..