After the torrential downpours (I could barely see past my window!) on Monday, we've had two days of glorious, sunny weather. It was warm, but not overly humid, with little wind--except in one part of today's ride:
I saw this same puddle/pond/wetland back in February:
Now, it wasn't my destination. I just hopped on Tosca, my Mercian fixed-gear, and zigzagged through some side streets between my apartment and Howard Beach. One of them dead-ended on top of a hill or mound, from which I had a view of the turbid body of water:
It looks to be the same size, shape and depth I saw four months ago. A group of people--I assumed them to be a family because they were a man, a woman and two young children--were breaking up some concrete and dirt in front of a battered house. They surprised me with their "hello's"; soon after, a man driving an old BMW eyed me suspiciously.
But another man, seemed to study me from the trailer colony across the pond, decided (correctly) that I'm not any sort of official and gave me a smile.
The last time I saw this place, I could've sworn a wind blew that I didn't feel before I arrived or after I left. Today, I had the same sensation. In fact, I was even more sure of that wind, as it flickered my hair and braced against my bare arms and legs. The last time I rode down that way, my arms and legs were covered.
Hmm...Could it be that The Hole has its own microclimate?
If what I saw in The Hole was an incongruity or a riddle, something else I saw along the way was a joke:
I looked for the driver of this truck. I really wanted to ask whether Dave's Killer Organic Bread--which I had never heard of until I saw that truck--was actually being delivered in the same vehicle as Tastykakes.
Perhaps one day I'll try Dave's Killer Bread and, if I survive the experience, tell you about it! It's organic, so I suppose I'll live through it. On the other hand, KandyKakes--especially a version they made with chocolate cake and peanut butter--was one of my favorite sugar rushes when I was a little kid. I liked those butterscotch crimpets, too.
Later, when I was riding with a bunch of guys who pedaled hard and treated themselves with, um, non-prescription painkillers, I became an aficionado of Tastykake fruit pies. I loved their cherry and blueberry pies; I probably would like them today, too, as those are my favorite pies (along with strawberry rhubarb--but, as far as I know, Tastykake has never made that!). But my favorite--again, for its sugar rush, was their Glazed French Apple.
Of course, Tastykake Glazed French Apple pie is about as French as that bottled bright orange salad dressing sold in big-box stores. The French aren't shy about sweet flavors, but I don't think they could come up with a sugarbomb like Tastykake Glazed French Apple Pie even if they wanted to.
Although I haven't eaten it in years, I'm still getting a sugar rush from thinking about it. The apple filling, sugary to begin with, was further sweetened by raisins and I-don't-know-what-else. And it was topped by a thick strip of that white icing that makes Twinkie fillings seem like grapefruit.
It looks like Tastykake's current French Apple Pie isn't glazed. Still, I'm sure it would provide quite the sugar rush--maybe almost as intense as a glazed Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart!
Maybe those Pop Tarts are delivered in the same trucks as Laughing Giraffe Cherry Ginger Granola. (With a name like that, I simply must try it!)
I saw this same puddle/pond/wetland back in February:
Now, it wasn't my destination. I just hopped on Tosca, my Mercian fixed-gear, and zigzagged through some side streets between my apartment and Howard Beach. One of them dead-ended on top of a hill or mound, from which I had a view of the turbid body of water:
It looks to be the same size, shape and depth I saw four months ago. A group of people--I assumed them to be a family because they were a man, a woman and two young children--were breaking up some concrete and dirt in front of a battered house. They surprised me with their "hello's"; soon after, a man driving an old BMW eyed me suspiciously.
But another man, seemed to study me from the trailer colony across the pond, decided (correctly) that I'm not any sort of official and gave me a smile.
The last time I saw this place, I could've sworn a wind blew that I didn't feel before I arrived or after I left. Today, I had the same sensation. In fact, I was even more sure of that wind, as it flickered my hair and braced against my bare arms and legs. The last time I rode down that way, my arms and legs were covered.
Hmm...Could it be that The Hole has its own microclimate?
If what I saw in The Hole was an incongruity or a riddle, something else I saw along the way was a joke:
I looked for the driver of this truck. I really wanted to ask whether Dave's Killer Organic Bread--which I had never heard of until I saw that truck--was actually being delivered in the same vehicle as Tastykakes.
Perhaps one day I'll try Dave's Killer Bread and, if I survive the experience, tell you about it! It's organic, so I suppose I'll live through it. On the other hand, KandyKakes--especially a version they made with chocolate cake and peanut butter--was one of my favorite sugar rushes when I was a little kid. I liked those butterscotch crimpets, too.
Later, when I was riding with a bunch of guys who pedaled hard and treated themselves with, um, non-prescription painkillers, I became an aficionado of Tastykake fruit pies. I loved their cherry and blueberry pies; I probably would like them today, too, as those are my favorite pies (along with strawberry rhubarb--but, as far as I know, Tastykake has never made that!). But my favorite--again, for its sugar rush, was their Glazed French Apple.
Of course, Tastykake Glazed French Apple pie is about as French as that bottled bright orange salad dressing sold in big-box stores. The French aren't shy about sweet flavors, but I don't think they could come up with a sugarbomb like Tastykake Glazed French Apple Pie even if they wanted to.
Although I haven't eaten it in years, I'm still getting a sugar rush from thinking about it. The apple filling, sugary to begin with, was further sweetened by raisins and I-don't-know-what-else. And it was topped by a thick strip of that white icing that makes Twinkie fillings seem like grapefruit.
It looks like Tastykake's current French Apple Pie isn't glazed. Still, I'm sure it would provide quite the sugar rush--maybe almost as intense as a glazed Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart!
Maybe those Pop Tarts are delivered in the same trucks as Laughing Giraffe Cherry Ginger Granola. (With a name like that, I simply must try it!)
Ahhhh! Those were the days when the body could run on Mars bars and bananas...
ReplyDeleteColine--Those were the days, indeed!
ReplyDelete