Stardate in anticlimatic

NPR has this weird little one minute show from the McDonald observatory called “Stardate” that is my favorite thing about NPR. They play a little ambient piano rift and talk about the position of the planets or other interesting goings on in space, and then more piano rift, and it’s over. It reminds me of a feeling of being awake in the 1980s, in dimly lit classrooms listening to former hippie boomers who were presently at child bearing age speak to us.

I saw a woman today I hadn’t seen since I was an early adolescent, who reminds me of that generation. And it’s funny, because for that reason I think about her often. But objectively she shouldn’t be someone I think of ever, or remember.

She was my brother’s best friend’s mother. His dad and my dad were good friends- both worked in the building trades together, and his wife- who was a teacher of grade school age children- kind of became friends with my mom out of husband/kid-friendship necessity, which all culminated in a grand trip to Florida (One week at Disney, one week at a condo on the beach for my dad) that our two families took together, in two station wagons tethered with a CB radio.

It’s much further left to right, but getting across the country top to bottom is no picnic either. Especially in the 90s when there was still plenty of leaded fuel around, and all the exhaust from traveling had this nauseating sweet smell. For car entertainment there were road bingo cardboard squares, and a single Batman Tiger Electronic game that I had, which was the most ass video game that has ever assed, yet play it I did all the way down there. Because what else was there to do.

My friend’s mother was a boomer hippie, but very nice. Think of Phil and Lil’s mom from Rugrats and you’re in the right vicinity. I remember she was in charge of something in the grade school called the “green earth gang” which involved picking up litter I assume. Obsessed with nature, animals, plant life. The type of respectable boomer hippie you would expect.

I saw her, but I didn’t want to talk to her. I think I recovered my eyes before she saw that I noticed her, but I’m not positive. I played it cool and just stood there a minute, not ducking away, or looking at her. I could see her notice me through my peripherals and identify me. I thought, if she greets me, says my name, reaches out and pokes me- we can go from there, but if not....

And she didn’t.
And on I went. I always wondered what happened to her.
She looked well.