These Times We Live In

I had a wonderful week in "Pleasantville" playing Nanny for little Zoe. We took lots of walks and went to the pool and did lots of fun things together. She's so cute; one morning (it was early, need I say that?) she just wanted to go outside and walk around her little neighborhood. It had rained, however, the night before so, once outside the door, I could see that it would not be possible to keep this little adventurer away from the puddles. Off came the shoes and we had lots of "messy fun". She stomped her little feet in every puddle she could find in the near vicinity. Later that day she was disappointed to see that they were no longer there. I was going to explain to her all about the water table and condensation, but I thought that best left to her father. I just said, in my best grandmother's voice, "ALL GONE!". I also got to take her shoe shopping at the Stride Rite store, much like I'd done many times with her mother. She was so adorable trying on shoes. After the first pair she quickly got the process down, walk around, turn around, let the nice lady check your toes. She loved it! So much that she wanted to keep trying on shoes! It was a wonderful week and I think the puddle experience will be one of those lasting memories for me.

I took the Amtrak Acela Express train home on Saturday. It seemed strange at the station that there were so many people that day, and when I boarded and found my seat I realized why (DUH!). The conductor's voice on the loudspeaker sounded like my father's, kindly and with that delicious and homey New England accent. "Folks, welcome to Amtrak Acela Express. This train stops at......(list all stops here). Please be advised that every seat is booked on this train today due to the recent terror alerts at the airports. Please remove all your belongings from the seat next to you. I repeat, ALL seats are booked. Also, for those just boarding you will be required to show photo ID once again when your ticket is punched by the conductor. " Later on the speaker system, "Folks, this is your conductor. Please be alert and aware and report any suspicious activity to your conductor". Later yet, "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the recent terror alerts we will be once again checking tickets and photo ID. If your ticket ends in an odd number please be prepared to show your photo ID when the conductor comes around." Lastly, he said "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but....(pause and sigh) these are the times we live in."

ps...I arrived at Metropark, NJ safely. The only real terror I had to face that day was the bumper to bumper traffic on the Garden State Parkway going to the shore.