2001-10-31 - 3:42 p.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?"

Ugh, how did it get to be Wednesday already?

I haven't finished talking about my weekend yet.

On Saturday, I went into work for a half day. I used to live in the town where I work, so I know where everything is, and I had several errands to run -- post office, bank, mixed paper recycle bins. I figured I'd run these errands and then head over to work.

Bad, bad, bad idea. I got to the post office okay, but then it took me 15 minutes to drive about 50 feet. I finally ducked into the supermarket parking lot and that's when I figured out the problem -- they were having a parade, and one of the main roads going through the center of the town was blocked off. Argh.

So I parked in the lot, got out, and walked to the bank and to the recycle place. And took a gander at the parade while I was at it.

There was a JiffyLube whose entrances were on the parade route, meaning they weren't getting any business that morning. What looked to be the entire staff except the manager, mostly Hispanic immigrants, were sitting in the back of a pickup facing the parade, waving American flags and yelling and cheering for each group that marched by. Man, I love that. People who came to this country for a better life, and got it, and by golly they appreciate it. God bless 'em.

Also saw a group of women with hijabs, with signs saying "Peace in Afghanistan". That was sufficiently vague. Does that mean they support our efforts to destroy the Taliban or not? Could go either way.

On Saturday evening, on our way back from Old Town and the Mall, we discovered that the corner store was finally open. I was thrilled. Walked in and said, "I've been waiting two years for this place to open!" And I have.

It seems to be quite upscale -- I ended up buying Delice cookies, two frozen Wolfgang Puck meals (although the one I tried that night was just awful), hazelnut cream coffee, and pistachios for Poindexter. He was going to eat peanuts in the shell to celebrate the World Series, but could only find gourmet nuts. So he bought the pistachios and called them "yuppie peanuts".

The place has a cafe area, so you can sit with your coffee and newspaper and eat a danish or croissant. I think on Saturday I'm going to walk over there and do just that. They sell the Washington Times there -- what more could I ask for?

Speaking of hijabs and burkas, two anecdotes:

At the going-away party for my neighbor, in late August, another neighbor was talking about a woman he'd seen at the supermarket. He's older -- 70, I think -- and is from Texas by way of New Jersey and seems to be very closely knit with his own Greek community. So he's fascinated and curious about the other ethnicities in the area. Anyway, he was talking about this woman he saw, with wonder in his voice, about how "she was covered from head to toe in black, and you couldn't see anything of her, she was completely covered, except for this screen near her eyes, and isn't that hot in the summertime, and how can she stand it, and I wanted to talk to her but what if she's not allowed to talk to me?" I saw her (or another woman similarly dressed) myself a week or so ago while dropping in for produce of some kind. It's odd how the whole Taliban thing has altered my view of these things.

Yesterday on my way home, I saw what, off in the distance, appeared to be three teenagers in costumes. Two in black, one taller one in white. I thought the white one was a ghost, and wondered what they were up to since it was the day before Halloween. When I got close enough to actually see who it was, it was three older ladies in flowing outfits, all wearing what looked like burkas except you could see their faces. One of them was clad all in white. Talk about a culture clash there, huh? Ghost costume or white burka? From the back, at a distance, on October 30th, it's really hard to tell.

So, Halloween is today, and I am very excited. This is my favorite holiday. I know more of the kids in my neighborhood now, so I'm excited to see them and their parents. And, of course, I'm looking forward to scaring the bejesus out of the older ones, same way I did last year. I'm also hoping to get a few photos with the digital camera. We shall see.

The current plan for the weekend is a one-day trip to Tower City on Sunday. Yes, we are addicts. Part of me thinks I'm crazy, to drive six hours to ride my bike for four hours. I don't know. The pumpkin spice cappuccino in York is luring me too ... maybe I will buy three or four large ones and put them in the fridge to drink all week.

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