Today I decided to take my “good” camera to be fixed, which had broken pre- pandemic. I had waited for a while for the repair place to be open, and on Monday, I discovered it wouldn’t be open until Wednesday. It is a good camera, and takes beautiful pictures. I had first used it on a trip to Africa when I volunteered there after retiring from teaching. I used a gift card from my colleagues to buy it. It was a sweet gift. On many levels, the camera is worth getting fixed. I drove to Latham where the shop was located, only to discover that the store had moved to Watervliet. Fine. I called the shop to make sure it was open. It was, and the man was pleasant. He remarked that “everything is going to hell anyway”. I laughed and agreed that the times were crazy with all this pandemic stuff.
I finally got to the repair shop, and left the camera to be repaired. Apparently, the card reader needs to be fixed. I remarked that I thought the back roads were kind of fun. The man said “yes I like these little towns.” I agreed, and said I could just picture a family barbecue at one of the houses.
My GPS took me the back way to Watervliet. I rather enjoyed the journey, taking me through Cohoes and Watervliet. I noticed that the old armory, built in the 1800s, had been beautifully painted and restored. It looked like it had been turned into apartments; one window on the very upper floor had a pretty lace curtain.
On the way through Watervliet, my Irish eyes had spotted an Irish pub, and I thought maybe I could wet my whistle. It looked like a decent place it had a sign on the door requesting that
“Gentlemen not Wear tank tops”. Hmm, I thought how quaint. There was noone in the place, and noone at the bar. I went to the kitchen, and asked if someone could come to the bar.
A gentleman appeared, I asked for a glass of water, and a half pint of Guinness. He was kind enough to warn me about the approaching rainstorm. I said that I would have it outside, and then be on my merry way.
I could have been a grumpy Gus, and been upset that I had to go a few extra miles to the repair shop. But, I thought I was lucky to see some different scenery and meet some decent folks. The leprechauns were with me.. The place did look like a pub in Ireland. And, I made it back through the rainstorm, in time to take my dog Trixie for a walk and to smell the lilacs.
Morning glory Moments 