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family folklore
Jan. 16th, 2007 01:36 pmI managed to walk out the door this morning without a book. Horrors. That means I'll get stuck behind the bridge (or I would if there was one here).
See, I grew up in the vicinity of the Mystic Drawbridge, which, being a drawbridge, used to go up once an hour on the quarter hour every daylight hour all summer. Mystic is a tourist trap in the summer, and has a fair bit of traffic running through it. So if you happened to be in downtown Mystic in a car when the bridge went up, you were going to be sitting there for a while. Natives know this, and turn off their engines and sit in their cars. Tourists sit there with the engines running and grumble.
The family folklore is that if you have a book in the car, you won't get stuck behind the bridge. Which is a lie; you'll still get stuck, but at least you won't be utterly bored. Having the radio on doesn't work, and you can't listen to the radio if the engine is off anyway. So, since I don't have a book with me today, even though I do have my iPod, I'll get stuck behind the bridge. Or, for want of a bridge, I'll probably get stuck waiting for a train.
See, I grew up in the vicinity of the Mystic Drawbridge, which, being a drawbridge, used to go up once an hour on the quarter hour every daylight hour all summer. Mystic is a tourist trap in the summer, and has a fair bit of traffic running through it. So if you happened to be in downtown Mystic in a car when the bridge went up, you were going to be sitting there for a while. Natives know this, and turn off their engines and sit in their cars. Tourists sit there with the engines running and grumble.
The family folklore is that if you have a book in the car, you won't get stuck behind the bridge. Which is a lie; you'll still get stuck, but at least you won't be utterly bored. Having the radio on doesn't work, and you can't listen to the radio if the engine is off anyway. So, since I don't have a book with me today, even though I do have my iPod, I'll get stuck behind the bridge. Or, for want of a bridge, I'll probably get stuck waiting for a train.
