Naughty frogs and grocery basket hijacking
Where the heck has summer gone? It’ll be half over Saturday. With school starting soon, I’m hearing some school supplies are in short supply this year, which includes everything from backpacks and crayons to the foods that lunch ladies will need in about a month. Things like chicken tenders may be hard to get. Thanks, Popeye’s.
Also in short supply are exciting “what I did on my summer vacation” stories from me. Well, maybe I can scrape up a few anecdotes to share from the summer that nearly wasn’t, weather wise.
Thanks to all the rain and minimal sun, my in-ground pool has become a science experiment this year. Aside from a parade of kamikaze mice jumping in, my newly re-plastered blue gunite pool looks more like Fenway’s green monster.
I had to laugh, though, when I popped the top on the skimmer basket to find a pair of frogs involved in the act of, shall we say, pollywog procreation? I gently used the skimming net, careful not to ruin the moment for them, and delivered them to the adjacent garden. I’m happy to report they carried on as if I wasn’t even there. My pool’s skimmer has become a passion Jacuzzi for frogs.
A summer highlight came for me two weeks ago when I discovered Shaw’s in the Royal Ridge Center reopened their hot soup bar, previously closed due to COVID. I pushed three shoppers and a deli worker out of the way to score a steaming hot cup of chowder. It was worth the pending assault charges.
A summer lowlight occurred a week earlier shopping at Market Basket on the D.W. I left my cart out of the way and began pawing over the 80% ground beef. Barb and I eat the cheap high fat burger meat while our dog Basia gets the gourmet 95% stuff. So, I made my final selection and turned to place my ground round in the carriage. It was gone. Some putz made off with my weekly grocery selections.
I quickly scanned the aisle, hoping to spot my biscotti and beer. Gone in 60-seconds. Finally, the accidental thief decided he didn’t like my dietary selections and waved me down. He was embarrassed. I think I asked him something like, “A little early in the day to be drinking, don’t you think?” I decided to move along versus getting another assault charge since I’m already banned from Shaw’s.
Also this summer, we bought a car from a Nashua dealership. Best place to get the feel of it? Alec’s Shoes parking lot. We drove the car but never bought shoes. Maybe next car, Alec. And what’s with that beat up beach chair on the edge of the lot?
My summer vacation has also involved watching a bit more TV. Sunday night I made the mistake of watching America’s Funniest Videos. Nothing’s changed since local guy Tom Bergeron was AFV’s host. Still a groin hit every 19 seconds. Reminded me of our amorous amphibians in the skimmer.
Contact Mike Morin at mike morinmedia@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @MikeMorinMedia. His column runs the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month.