Timing.............

I've been thinking about Time lately. Not the magazine, the concept. How certain events in our lives never lose their impact on us from year to year. For example, I know that each generation has a Landmark Event - a "Where Were You When" event that defines them. These events overlap from generation to generation, but there is always one, defining,  Primary Event. For our parents it was Pearl Harbor. For us, the Kennedy Assassination. For our children, September 11th. These are the Times that we will always remember.

There are also personal events. Take, for instance, the death of a family member. We had a memorial mass on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of one in our family, and I could see that several of the other attendees still felt the loss as keenly as they did back then.

I guess Time doesn't always heal all wounds.

And, of course, there are the happy events that still thrill us every year, such as a wedding or a birth. I can admit to reliving my transplant experience every November 24th.

I find it interesting that these events - these Times - can still affect us years after they actually occurred.
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But it's not just Time, it's Timing. On a daily basis, we tend to do the same things at the same times. We get up, we eat, we exercise (or not), we go to bed, usually at the same time every day. Any change to these routines can throw us off, and we feel disoriented. And sometimes we try to compensate for this. If we stayed up too late one night, we'll probably go to bed early on the next one.

Human nature.

I stayed up late (for me) Sunday night to watch the Oscars, and got up at my usual time on Monday. Therefore, I went to bed early last night. Unfortunately, all that did was see me get up very early this morning.

I drove up towards Avenel and remembered, too late, that they were working on Avenel Street and it was closed to traffic. I had to take some unfamiliar back roads to get over to St. George's Avenue. That's where I came up behind this guy.

I figured that he was heading towards the train station and, because of the road work, had to go this way. We were the only ones around. I was still having trouble with the windows, but that didn't bother me anymore.

Point, press, Flash.

I continued on towards St. George, and turned left. I drove back through Woodbridge, and turned right onto Main Street.

I turned into the Wegman's/Loewe's shopping area, and turned up into the smaller lot to the left of Wegman's. Up ahead, I saw this woman walking to her car.

I slowed, looking around. It was still early and this section of the lot was practically empty. I took the chance and drove toward her, keeping her on my driver's side. She opened her passenger side door just as I passed her, probably to put her package inside.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove out, turned right onto Woodbridge Center Drive, then left onto Route 1. I stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts for a bagel and coffee, then continued on through Edison and Metuchen.

I parked in the back lot of a strip mall in South Plainfield and just walked around a bit. I thought I was the only one around until this guy rounded the corner up ahead of me.

He was coming towards me. I walked toward him. We were the only one's around. As we passed, we nodded to each other.

Point, press, Flash.

I went back to my car, and headed towards Metuchen again. I still had about a half an hour before the library so I'd stop somewhere and get the paper. Maybe do the crossword puzzle.

I came across each of these people today because I'd gotten up early this morning.

Sometimes, it's all about the Timing.

Change of Plans..........

When I go out in the morning, I usually have a plan. I know what I want to get done and where I want to go. Of course, that doesn't always work out. Take this morning, for example.

I planned to do my wash at a friend's house. She'd be at work, but I have a key. I was going to stop in, put my wash on, and go food shopping while the machine ran. Long story short, the selector knob was broken so I couldn't use the washer. I took my stuff back to my place and, since I now had to come up with something else for today, decided to drive to Unique - a thrift store in South Plainfield.

They don't open until 10, and it was only 9:15 so I took the back roads, enjoying the ride and the sunny weather. As I got close to South Plainfield I stopped at a red light and noticed this guy just standing around on the corner.

OK. Change of plans. I looked around and there was no one else in the area. I made the right turn, slowly.

Point, press, Flash.

Since I was now turned away from South Plainfield, I headed for Metuchen. The library there opens at 10 and I was still early.

I parked on a side street not too far from the library.I had about 1/2 an hour and thought I'd walk around a bit and take in the warm weather. As I was about to get out of the car, I noticed this woman in my driver's side mirror. She was heading in my direction. I decided to wait until she passed me, and started my engine again.

I checked around, and we were the only one's around. I pulled out from the curb, and slowly drove past her.

Point, press, Flash.

Change of plans again. I decided to drive to the Menlo Park Mall and browse around in Barnes & Noble's.

They were open when I got there but, being a Thursday morning, there weren't too many people in the store. I took the escalator to the second floor, figuring on checking out the Graphic Novel section. As I headed there, I passed this guy sitting on the floor, playing a music video on his laptop.

Now, I know it's not a library, but I found the music he was playing to be intrusive and obnoxious. I walked up and down several nearby aisles, looking around, checking for other browsers. There was no one close by, probably because of this annoying guy. I started past him towards the far side of the store.

Point, press, Flash.

He looked the same but, because the Flash was so close, the laptop went dark. It was quiet again as I headed for the down escalator.

Then I headed for home.

I hadn't planned to be home so early, but plans change.

Weather.............

It's been over three weeks since I last heard from Doyle. If there was anything going on, I'm pretty sure he'd tell me. There's nothing I can do but wait.

It's been much longer then that since I heard from Gordon. I was a little concerned but the last time we met he said that there was someone helping him out. Again, there's nothing I can do but wait.

Well, that's not entirely true.

I've been going out every day looking to stage an Event or two, but I've had some problems. All of them involve the weather.

We've either had really sunny days that , with the wind factored in, have been bone-chillingly cold. Or, we've had unseasonably warm days that have been overcast and rainy. Either way, there haven't been too many people out and, I have to admit, I didn't want to stay out too long in either case. Also, I've developed a problem with my car that makes things a little more difficult.

About two and a half weeks ago, it was one of the bright and windy days and I was out early. I was up just past Avenel, in Rahway, behind the PathMark/KMart strip mall. I saw this guy just up ahead, leaning against his car, smoking a cigarette.

I looked around, but we were the only ones around. I had the Flasher down by my side, as usual. Here's where my problem occurred. My windows open and close electronically. The weather had apparently affected them because when I tried the driver's side one, it started to creep down way too slowly.Of course, I started to worry if I'd be able to raise it back.

I drove past the smoker, and stopped in the far side of the lot. Eventually, the window closed but I was going to have to reconsider things.

On the way home, I remembered that I've used the Flasher through windows before, just not my windows. It shouldn't make a difference. I wanted to try it right away, but I figured the smoker would be gone by now. I'd get a chance soon.

Last week it rained on and off, but it was warmer. It had stopped early enough one day, so I drove up to Colonia. My phone rang, and I stopped on the side of the street to see who it was. It was a robo-call from my pharmacy stating that a prescription of mine was ready. It was starting to rain again, and I looked up as I was putting my phone back. I saw this man heading towards me.

I kept my phone in my right hand, pretending to speak into it, and scanned the neighborhood. No one else. As he came up to the passenger side, I acted.

Point, press, Flash.

I saw him drop, started the car, and headed for the pharmacy.

Yesterday started out overcast, but dry. I drove up St. George's Avenue and took the jug-handle into the ShopRite lot. I dove around to the rear lot, and saw this older guy putting groceries into his trunk. He was coming up on my driver's side.

I dove around him, checking out the area. We were the only one's there. I turned so he'd be on the passenger side, and narrowed the gap.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove around the front, parked, and did some shopping. We're expecting a pretty severe storm coming and, like others, I needed some supplies.

I can't help thinking of a line from an old Laurel and Hardy movie...

Lot's of weather we've been having.