My Least Favorite Place

So Wifey and I headed up to Delray, to see Ancient Mom. Fittingly, she spent the whole car ride making various calls for HER parents -- scheduling medical tests, and procuring a walker for her father. They're lucky to have her. They were always Mr. Magoo-like in approaching life in America, and now, in their 80s, are truly helpless...

We fetched Mom and headed to the bank, to deal with an expiring CD. Mom was in great spirits, as always, but carried on a conversation with her longtime banker, Ms. West, that was about 5 beats behind what was happening.

We then left for the Grammercy Deli, for lunch. Wifey had made plans to meet her old friends Alyssa and Lori, for coffee in Boca, so we were on a bit of a schedule. We arrived at the Gramercy, and I had made a major tactical error -- forgetting it was the height of the snow bird season in Delray!

The place was packed, with a wide diversity of clientele that ran the gamut from old Northeastern Jews to REALLY REALLY old Northeastern Jews. The atmosphere and accents were cliched -- loud voiced men in NY Football Giants jerseys, ladies in sweat suits and dripping with jewelry -- and a stable of walkers that would make a serviceman who fixes those things salivate.

Eventually we were seated. We got stuffed bewteen two large parties. The lights blinked, and immediately a 70 something fellow wearing a Louisville jersey and hat (I'm assuming he has a grandchild who attends) barked out "Hey! Pay your bills, and if you need money, Obama will give you some stimulus!!!"

The food was good, as always, though we did sort of rush Mom a bit. We were already running late, and Alyssa, true hippie soul that she has, is our only friend without a cell phone -- so we knew she'd be waiting in vain at the Boca Starbucks...

We dropped Mom off, and left for the coffee meeting.

It reminded me, again, of how much I dislike Mom's neighborhood, especially during the season. Everything is packed, and everything is a hassle. I though of poor Dr . Eric -- these are his patients, and they're not a cheerful, appreciative bunch. He earns well each dollar in his practice for dealing with these folks...

South Beach gets packed, and we seldom go there. But at least there's eye and ear candy for folks waiting in the valet line -- a melange of Italian, Portuguese, and, of course, South American and Cuban Spanish. I much prefer that to the honking and whiny sounds of Delray Beach...

We made it to Starbucks, and chatted with Alyssa and Lori. We compared elderly parent tales, and young adult kids' tales.

The two ladies are Miami natives, and moved to Palm Beach about 15 years ago. One has a med student at the U, and the other has kids looking to move to the Brickell area -- they're bored with suburban Palm Beach Gardens. Lori said she might well find herself coming back South.

As she said that, 2 ladies walked to their cars. They were in their 70s, but trying to look 20. Lori noted "Classic Boca Gothic."

But the important thing is that Ancient Mom is happy as a clam. The days follow slowly for her, and, she tells everyone how happy she is to stay in her condo. So we'll honor her wishes, of course, even though it's so absurd that she lives by herself.

Back to the Gramercy. The hostess is a late 30s lady --from Brooklyn, I believe. I always chat with her. I asked her how she stays so cheerful despite dealing with these folks all day. "It's tough, believe me. They're NEVER satisfied." As if on cue, an old lady waddled over, through the crowd, and demanded a different table. The hostess' eyes and mind met, and we laughed.