Image by Chriss from Flickr.
An incident is arising in my mind from the mists of time, perhaps because I’ve been planning several events recently. My husband and I had purchased our first house in a Duluth neighborhood. Our son was one, so we decided to hold a combination birthday party and open house for our friends and the neighbors.
On the afternoon of the party, many people showed up. Things were in full swing when a couple from down the street rang the doorbell. We hadn’t met them yet and were happy to see them at our door.
After introductions, the woman said something like, “I’m sorry, we don’t have time to stay, but we just wanted to say hello.” My husband and I expressed our disappointment at this. We chatted a few moments more and then they went on their way.
I was surprised some months later to learn from my mother (who lived in our same city) who in turn learned from one of her friends who was acquainted with the couple, that they were incensed and highly affronted that we didn’t insist they come into the party.
I stared at my mother in disbelief at this news, then started to laugh. Oh the social games people play! I had never run into that behavior before. And I’m sorry, I’m not the type of person to beg people to come to parties if they’ve said they can’t. Imagine that — the couple was angry because we believed what they said.
We lived in the neighborhood for a few years more and never did run into the couple, so we had no chance to smooth things over.
I suppose they had expected us to say, “Nonsense, please come in. We’d love for you to stay!”
Instead, they got, “Oh, sorry to hear that,” and eventually, a goodbye.
In our defense, we were new homeowners, new parents, and unschooled in social mores. But I do hope the experience made those neighbors think twice before they tried this tactic on others. I’m sure there are other people in the world who think people actually mean what they say.
The wave of hard cideries that has swept the coasts has finally made its way inland to the shores of my fair burg. So far, one has opened in Duluth (Duluth Cider) and another is planning to open later this month (Wild State Cider).
Las Lajas is flavored with coffee from Duluth Coffee Company. I tried this one first, and didn’t like it because it didn’t have the traditional apple taste I was expecting. But after I tasted the other three and came back to it, my palate had gained a new appreciation. Besides the coffee, it carries hints of caramel and vanilla – rather like a crème brulee of ciders. I joked with my friend that this would make a good breakfast cider.
Then Ricardo took us back out to the sea to the cay, stopping once to point out a $20 million home along the beach. A couple from Massachusetts was with us on the adventure. Denise and Michael were able to keep up with Ricardo better than we were, but paid for it with two impressive falls off their machine.
Here’s a peek into the glamorous life of a local author. I was at the mirror in my church bathroom today when a lady going into a stall stopped and said she enjoyed reading the cover story on American martens that I wrote for Lake Superior Magazine recently.
Marie's Meanderings 