Carnival Week

As promised, here is the NOW famous photo of me & Brini. I had to do some serious cropping of this photo because she is much thinner than I. Brini was our Carnival Week fund raiser. I think we made $25 after expenses. But she was very generous with her time.
I like to call them the Blondettes. They had some of the best music and got more attention than some of the floats. I didn't realize until the end of the parade that they were my neighbors.

The theme this year was "Peace, Love and Go-Go Boots," and never was there a more appropriate theme for this town. In fact, it should always be the theme. What was particularly good about this year's Carnival was that everyone in town got dressed up whether they were in the parade or not. Lots of Afros, tie-dye, head scarves and yes, go-go boots.

What was particularly bad about this year's Carnival parade was that I watched it alone. I didn't have to. I just needed to get through another one of those rituals that is enjoyed together, not singularly. I was going to be a baby and not watch the parade at all, but the music started and I couldn't resist. I didn't think I would take one more carnival photo--they start to blend--but this year was exceptional. Like one big flashback! But not of Carnival week.

Now it's Friday. One week from today, the moving truck arrives. So, it didn't come on Carnival Week. And it's not Labor Day weekend. That's good. They will drive away with my belongings and I will live in this house until Sept. 1 when I will either close on the new house, or pay the current owner rent, taxes and whatever until I do close.

I travel back and forth on a very slow train that stops at excitement, sadness and fear and then back again. The excitement and sadness are understandable. The fear? I think I'm afraid I will be even more remote and removed from the world then I already am. I was just getting to the point where folks would stop me and chat with me on the street as I walked to work. Now, there will be no one. During the summer months I will be living across the street from people who are renting beach cottages. During the winter, it will be me and Ollie.

I need more friends. How am I going to get them? Maybe I'll start knit night again, or a cooking club, that would be fun. I could run an ad in the personal column: Fun loving cook, looking for same to start cooking club. I don't think it would be fair to call myself fun-loving. That might be misleading. Miserable good cook looking for fun-loving good cook to start dining club. Why do all of my friends have to live so far away? Whine. Time to return to packing.