I climbed up the pile of milk crates carrying three boxes of Special K and placed them carefully on the top shelf. All was quiet except for the Cranberries belting out their early 90s hit for the fifth time that night over the PA. My stomach grumbled, a loud indication lunchtime was around the corner. I glanced at the clock next to the manager’s window up in the corner of the second level of…
How Much Does a Toilet Cost Anyways
I had no business working in a home and auto store. I knew nothing about home and even less about auto. Still, the store was hiring and I was applying so the match was made in heaven so to speak. And by heaven I mean the Mountview Plaza.
The Plaza. One stop a day was necessary when you were part of the Lawson family. The one-level, open concept shopping plaza had it all, until it all went…
Things You Might Find While Cleaning Motel Rooms
The Orleans Holiday Motel was old-fashioned and well priced. It had a large pool in the middle of a parking lot surrounded by a chain linked fence. It had views of the parking lot and of the adjacent busy highway like road. But most importantly, it was in Cape Cod.
My sister and I needed work for the summer and we only had one car. Any job we got had to hire us both and we had very little…
How I learned my sister was afraid of Dogs
We pulled the camry up to a large white house on a private cul-de-sac in the ritzy part of Orleans, Cape Cod and I handed my sister a phone book from the back of the car.
“I’ll keep the car running.”
She opened the door, jumped out and ran to the front door, her flip-flops clicking on the shells in the driveway. I could see something moving in the bushes behind the deck alongside the…
Why You Shouldn’t Smoke In The Trash Room
The super of my lower east side apartment was the type of guy who never let the cigarette leave his lips. The unashed stick would flip and flop while he talked and follow him no matter where he went, whether smoking was allowed or not. If he came in to fix the stove, my kitchen also had a drag. I knew if the drain was fixed in the bathroom because there were ashes in the sink.
As a super…
My First Taste of Bouillabaisse
My First Taste of Bouillabaisse
The sweet taste of succulent shrimp. The spicy aroma of old bay seasoning. Vine ripened tomatoes and sweet summer corn. All these flavors combine elegantly and magically in a beautiful bouillabaisse. And what better way to experience such a seaside classic, than in an intimate setting, a party perhaps?
The chef spends all day letting the flavor complexities…
How I Learned to Make Iced Coffee
I wiped down my counter, staring out the plate glass window into the summer. Cars filled with families wait at the traffic light outside debating to turn right into the National Seashore or turn left for a quick ice cream cone or lobster boat before they hit the waves. Those who took a right, headed to one of the most glorious cliffside and dune shadowed beaches of the eastern seaboard. Those…
