bank lollipops

Week 44. Hawley, PA next to Lake Lackawanna in the Poke-a-nose (Algonquin for "Watch out for the monster-sized possum") was a very small town. You were under the impression that when in the NEPA (northeast Pennsylvania) area that antique-ing was really the touristy thing to do. You spent about three hours doing just that. What kind of gift does one get for a couple whom one doesn't know? Here's what you knew about them, previous to the wedding: they're editors. They work together. They live in DC. They are friends with very esoteric, underground movie and music buffs.

You couldn't get them anything to do with children? couldn't presume. You couldn't get them any particular book, they're editors, they should do pretty well on their own about books. Some strange antique thing? – You are fairly good at finding chach-kas, but that's not everybody's thing.

The beautiful thing about Hawley is that Simon found a bar and left you to wandering around between three shops putting different ideas together. At the second store you thought that bookends would be perfect, but couldn't find any, so you went back to the first store. The ends you found were HEAVY, and that would be painful bringing them back to DC.

Then, tucked back between two Virgin Mary candleholders and a small rocker, you saw a little shine of a picture frame. You bought the frame and went back to the second store after using the Windex to try to get the gunk off the front of the glass from the sticker (that lady wasn't very helpful). At the second store, you and Valerie went through a file folder filled with used postcards from all over. You found a picture of Hawley and put it in the picture frame. She didn't have any stuff to get the gunk off the glass either. You got a parking ticket during all of this! Spent almost 24 hours in NYC with nothing (other than a warning from NYPD about turning
right from the center lane) and you make it to Bob's country PA and get a parking ticket. It was only $5. But the principle though! You went to the jeweler’s. Devon, stuttered and was from somewhere in Central America, polished and buffed the picture frame while you tried for about a half an hour to get the gunk off the glass, still.

Put it all together and was verra verra proud of it.

Later in the evening, you met some more people from Hawley. Tom, originally from Philadelphia, was a huge pear shaped man. He was "pissed" and very angry when your party left the bar (you had developed a splitting headache from lack of oxygen - very smoky bar). Cathy was the bartender that looked up your license in the license almanac and told you it was a "pain in the butt." Later she cut off Simon because he was talking to Tom. John was missing most of his teeth, except the right top incisor (just like Mr. Charles at work, snaggletooths). He ran the pool table for about .. Tom, Chris, Richard, Mr. New York ...four people before he lost to you. He was a joy to play against. He was so nice and had really interesting hands. He was about your height with no heels, but since you were wearing the most awesome shoes ever, he
was shorter. He scratched on his 8ball shot. You won by default. Tom wanted a piece afterwards. But since you had already saved Simon from Aubree at the ATM, Jess' lipstick from dire straights on the roads of Hawley and Mr. New York from Simon; you figured you could do with some sleep.

In Hawley, the bank offered lollipops.

Continue on in your recovery, keep going to meetings, keep living life on life’s terms. Read the next adventure (page 37). These are all things that happen a month before you celebrate your first whole year in recovery.