This weekend I took a road trip up route 13 to my grandmother’s house in Newark, Delaware. I have ridden/driven this road since 78’, in many different groupings of family. Mostly it was my brother, mother and I going up to visit my grandparents. This weekend it was Sophie and I going up to help pack up my grandmother, and get the house ready to sell.
It was a kickin day. We saw many things along the way. When I first experienced this road there were maybe 5 places to stop and pee. Now you can stop every 10-15 min. American progress every where, almost… There were still those houses that are smaller than a car, the ones that look like you could blow them over making a birthday wish. Still a lot of the old gas stations, some of my favorite old buildings and some new sites mixed in with the old.
The first was the Shrimp Dancer. She was at a corner gas station, with a truck, sign read “Fresh large shrimp.” They were large. Mighty large. And she was seductively dancing while shaking this large shrimp at cars passing by. It was beautiful...
So I’m driving and I realized that this was yet one more major change in my life. All the surroundings had changed and I was kinda going into this philosophical discussion thing in my head about life, relationships, and opportunities that present themselves, you know the deal. When I come to a stoplight and look over and see an old familiar, yet always strange site. “The Cock and Bull”, a family dining experience. Now this restaurant has been there since I can remember, in the middle of, not much. So your thinking and…
Picture if you will, a very large, freestanding sign. On it is an image of a cock (the male chicken kind) dressed in a red vest, sombrero, huge shotgun, feet kicked up on the table leaning back on 2 legs in a chair. Now the bull was decked out Pancho Villa style, and they are throwin down shots of Tequilla. Ya, it’s great. As a young child I always wondered about it. This day it made me laugh even harder and feel not so alone. Not to be outdone, across the street is a tugboat sunk in concrete. This is the “Nautico” a seafood and Italian restaurant. But 10 feet away from this boat sunk in concrete is a lake. Never made much sense either.
About an hour or more down the road I see another family friend. E. B. Warrington’s. Classic Cars For Sale…The dude has always had cool cars in a show room, and parked outside in the grass.
So then I drive by Poynter’s Motel. It’s one of those cool old mom & pop places, about 8 little rooms. I start laughing because I ended up there one nite after throwing a rod thru the engine of my parents car. It’s maybe 10 at nite, and some guy helps push the car into the motel. Called my dad to come get me. He had to drive 4 hours. So I meet Dick and Mary. This older couple living above the main quarters of the motel, in a really small really HOT apt. So hot I can’t stay awake. I remember they were from NJ, retired, and had bought a race horse and just moved down to make money off the horse races at Dover Downs. The world-series was on and they were totally enveloped by it, yet cordial enough to offer me a cake if they would have had it. I think of them sometimes and wonder if they ever made the money they hoped for.
I make it to grandma’s, and there’s the for sale sign in the yard. The house really hasn’t been the same since my grandfather died. And I guess I haven’t been either. Harold. He was such a great man! I realized one of the most important things about him was that he treated me like a person, not just a granddaughter/girl. He was a carpenter and he used to teach me how to use his tools. My favorite was the lathe. He used to drive fast down winding roads, and always take my brother and me for ice cream.
Anyway, on the way back I see lots of things but again it’s just what the? is this doing here.
In the middle of nowhere, being semi blocked by a large truck is a billboard with a large picture of Kermit the Frog. Yes, good old green Kermit. The sign reads “ Eats flies, Dates a Pig, Hollywood Star. Live Your Dreams…
The sun is on its way down as I hit the Chesapeake tunnel. It’s perfect. The moon is very robust, and the sunset is phenomenal. The red is very warm and sensual, and it is swirled across the sky. Sophie says “Hey mom the sun is kissing the water.” And she was right, it was. It was a great visual to experience. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a red moon rise above the mountains a few weeks back, the sunset on the west coast as the moon rose while Mars and Venus were prominent in the night sky. Oh and watching Mars from the balcony as it crossed over a 4 hour time period. All with really cool people, thanks…
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