Here I am on vacation. In a VERY HOT, UNAIRCONDITIONED computer lab. What I don’t do for you people…
The drive was long. Closer to 11 hours than I had hoped. The DVD player saved the day, but the THREE elmo christmas DVDs that played constantly (because M is horribly terrified by Finding Nemo –our first foray into Disney) made me want to impale my head with the windshield wiper.
Oh, and we weren’t out of the car more than 5 minutes at our first pit stop (McDonalds…damn their indoor playgrounds!) in West Virginia, when we had a run in with an old guy with an accent so thick I thought he was scottish (but no, just Appalachian it seems). He was obsessed with M to the point that he went and found a stuffed animal for her in his car (Uh, no, we don’t let our kid accept toys from wierd strangers in McDonalds, but thanks?).
As soon as A walked up to get some Ketchup, the toothless guy leaned over and said "Soooooo, what nationality is your husband??"
*blink* *blink* from me.
"Huh?" I asked.
"What is he?" the guy mumbled.
"He’s an AMERICAN." I said.
"But where was he born?"
"Um, In AMERICA. Where were you born?" I said gathering up M to escape to the playground.
"You don’t say." He said.
Ah, rural ‘Merica. How I have missed you.
Back to the beach for me…
P.S. My cheerleader post was not at all directed to the folks who comment HERE. I was thinking of some other blogs I read.
Tell them his folks come from “Back East”.
Grrr…I hate it when people do that. I actually just ranted on my own blog about it! Thanks for taking time out of your vacation to blog!
Don’t you just love toothless strangers. Ewwww!! He gives me the creeps.
Ah, Elmo. Our recent long drive was marked by Elmo Does the Wild Wild West. Over. and Over. and Over. By the end of the drive Li learned to say “Elmo” and alternate shouts of “Elmoelmoelmoelmoelmo” with “horsiehorsiehorsiehorssie” until I dearly wanted to leave her at the next rest stop. Oh the joy.
Oh, those “where are you from” comments. Don’t tell me A hasn’t gotten those in bigger cities too? Lucky guy. Perhaps he’d like a t-shirt like the one my brother threatens to have made for traveling in rural Whitelandia? It says “I’m stealing your nuclear secrets” on it. Unless, of course, he has something against red-baiting. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Just had a taste of that with my 4 year old (adopted from China) daughter. At the giant Toys ‘R Us in Times Square there was some sort of educational computer display. We walked up to the display, and the salesman said to me “Does she speak English?’ While staring at me (white guy). And pretty obviously with her, since she was laughing with me. He tried to recover, but…
Richard Scary (Scarry?) DVDs were much easier to take than Elmo. Less frantic, too. But seeing the dog family (friends with the pig family) eat bacon is a bit odd…
What? You didn’t compliment the kind gentleman on his English?
bleagh. I am beginning to loathe the long cartrips through Hicksville with my baby.