Ms. Cranky traveled to another city this weekend for a party and other fun things and found herself hurtling through the streets in her New York City way and saying, ‘pardon me, excuse me’ to the many people in this smaller city who were taking nice walks, talking with each other, even, shockingly, ambling. Ms. Cranky couldn’t stand how slow everything seemed; didn’t these people want to get to where they were going? Didn’t they know that walking was for going from point “A” to point “B” as fast as you could without, hopefully, knocking someone down in the process. They were behaving like those “Sunday drivers” on expressways.
On her second day away, Cranky found herself slowing down but not much, you know the old NYC philosophy --- do as much as you can at every minute, fill in all the spaces, don’t leave a second when you’re not doing, going, learning or attending some special event that ‘can’t be missed.’ But, sure enough, by the second day away, Ms. Cranky was walking a bit slower, looking around more and just imbibing the beautiful weekend.
On her third and last day, Ms. Cranky actually paid for coffee!!! Out, in one of those over-priced bistro places that are too cute for words. Ms. Cranky prides herself on making fabulous coffee in her home with coffees mostly bought on sale and so, is a coffee snob and as many already know, very, very frugal (call her cheap if you must!). But the place where she was staying had a problem this time, like Ms. Cranky thinks maybe her friend took the pledge against coffee in the few years she hadn’t stayed at her lovely abode. Maybe she had 'gone on the wagon’ so Cranky was forced to go out and buy a cup of coffee and, she found herself, after the shock of the price, loving the big old round cup and, instead of doing her crosswords obsessively or reading something she ‘should be reading,’ Cranky just sat, she sat and sipped her quite-good coffee and didn’t take her reading materials out of her bag!
Instead, on a misty Monday morning, Cranky simply looked out the windows and actually stared into space. She found herself not doing anything. And, by the time another friend came to pick her up to go to lunch, Ms. Cranky had made a pledge of her own --- to go back to New York City and Brooklyn which can be pretty rushed on its own, albeit in a sweeter, more tree-filled way, and she vowed that she would begin making SPACES in her life, spaces where she just sat and looked out a window or stared into space and let the clouds in the sky drift by. And she vowed to let the thoughts in her head drift in and out and she would drink a cup of coffee out once a week (that shouldn’t break the bank) and sit with her fellow citizens and just be, JUST BEEEEEE.
Ms. Cranky thanks you for stopping by as always and especially on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. It is Cranky’s dear friend Alyson’s birthday and she is so glad Alyson was born.
Cranky hopes Alyson has a great, great day and gives herself all the spaces needed to dream of a well-deserved fine future.
Ms. Cranky --- see you next time!
