Mukilteo Musings

Kalakla Watch--It is still there!!

Damn I'm Good!!!

Yesterday, I was at the doctor's office for my check up and routine tests and while I was waiting this elderly couple came in. The wife needed some blood work. I cannot tell you exactly what it was I noticed about them but I said to myself--these people are highly educated and they are not originally from here. I really like to watch people and imagine what their story might be because everyone has an interesting story of some sort. Of course, guessing that they are not orginally from here is easy because as I have said before everybody here came from someplace else--rare is the Seattle native.

It might have been the way she said "pocketbook" instead of purse or the way they said their "R's", or the way he used the word "pleasant" but I said to myself, "I bet they are from the east coast." Their speech also sounded educated--the way the wife told her husband to go retrieve a brochure for her--just little stuff but I absolutely love figuring these things out.

The wife was called back so I started to chat with the husband. When she asked him to hold her "pocketbook", he said of course he would and he'd steal all of her jewels. He was such a delightful old man telling me how his wife really doesn't like jewelry anymore after she lost her wedding ring while gardening. Somehow, I managed to guide the conversation easily because this man really enjoyed chatting. Sure enough, he was a retired UW professor; they'd had eight children--three of whom became university professors; and they had come out here from New York!! They had lived in Buffalo for a time and used to swim in Lake Erie before it was polluted. BINGO But the clincher was they had lived here for forty years and had only been back to New York once in all of that time but I could still hear "new york" in his speech. Damn, I'm good!!!

Of course, conversations like this always end with something about how we love living here. He told me when he was young, he was "hot property" and Arizona tried to steal him from the UW. His wife said," If you leave here, I'm staying but I'll write to you!" I said, yes yes--my situation--"they " keep trying to lure my husband away to the east coast. Nope, this is where we all want to spend the rest of our lives!