This incident merits its very own posting.
Or rant.
You decide.
Annie and Edwin met us at our hotel early Saturday morning. We ate breakfast at Burger King, which was enough to curdle the day if I had let it, but I maintained my cool.
Turns out, there was a Metro station right next to the Marriott, (only the Osbornes could have possibly missed it) so we caught it down to a stop fairly close to Freedom Plaza. One more little hop on the train and we were there. Only the train was so crowded with 9-12ers that I, along with several others, didn't make it out of the doors before they closed.
I was panicking. There were so many people and I didn't have my cell phone. I just KNEW that Jeff would be frantic, not knowing where I was.
Breathe, just breathe, I kept telling myself.
I told the others that my husband got off the train and they said,"Don't worry, we'll stick with you."
We got off at the next stop and caught the next train back to Freedom Plaza, my new friends reassuring me all the while that SURELY Jeff would be waiting for the train.
But was he?
No. He was not.
We searched all over that stupid station and they were not there.
I didn't know Annie's cell phone number, but when we finally came to the surface I borrowed a cell phone and got the number from Charlie.
He sounded a bit groggy. I figured out yesterday that it was only about 6am Pacific time when I called him.
Oops.
Annie finally answered her phone about the sixth time that I called.
"Where are you?"
Trying not to sound hysterical.
"We're on Pennsylvania Avenue."
"WHAT! YOU"RE MARCHING ALREADY?"
"Yes."
"But what about me? WHAT DID YOU THINK I WAS GOING TO DO?"
"Dad said you'd catch up with us."
"WHAT! PUT DAD ON THE PHONE."
I will leave the rest of that conversation to your imagination.
Let me just say that I was flabbergasted.
Really Jeff, really? You thought I would catch up to you? Really? And how was I going to do that, among the hundreds of thousands of people that were crowding Pennsylvania Avenue that day? Was there some unspoken agreement that if you lost me I would catch up to you?
I think not!
And then...
I had to TALK THEM INTO turning around and finding me.
If you can believe it.
My head still wants to spin around on my shoulders every time I think about it.
Unbelievable.
It will take some time before I come to terms with this husbandly shortcoming.
I may have to go visit the orangutans before I can be appeased.
Kangaroos and koalas may not do the trick.
What you didn't see was the lady that the doors shut on when they closed so you couldn't get off... I'm telling you they did it on purpose! Because later nothing like that happened and people always had enough time to get on and off the train. Oh, and! I told dad you should wait for you but he wouldn't have it so put any of the blame on me!
ReplyDeleteDo you mean "DON'T put any of the blame on me"? Don't worry, Dad takes the full onus of this one.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of the time I got so mad at TG, I seethe even now to think about it. It's all contained in a blog post of mine called "The Great Ohio Flip-Out" ... my head spins on my shoulders too, to remember it.
ReplyDeleteIt has nothing to do with being left in a strange place with nobody to turn to (although, come to think of it, that happened once too, in 1984; I haven't as yet blogged about it) ... but everything to do with me falling backwards out of a lawn chair and spilling my hot dog supper all over my dress and even in my hair. And TG walked THE OTHER DIRECTION instead of helping me up.
Come to think of it, I'm surprised he's not divorced now.
I CANNOT FATHOM why your husband thought you'd catch up to them. Sorry Jeff; that's asinine. I know this is all in the past now but I'd lay dollars to donuts a visit to the orangutans did not appease her.