Saturday morning I asked Ted to take me to Wal-Mart to exchange something I got earlier in the week. I didn't realize that Wal-Marts are so few and far between around these parts. The first store we went to just happened to be on the way back from my niece's house, but nowhere near Ted's. I never dreamed there was a place in America that didn't have a Wal-Mart nearby! Ted found another one northeast of his place in Burbank, a good twenty-plus miles away. He thought we could drive there and back in plenty of time for him to get to his football game in the afternoon.
But the Los Angeles highways had other ideas. Traffic was terrible nearly all the way there, and it took us an hour to reach our destination. When we finally arrived, I rushed into the store and found the item I wanted to exchange. I was so tempted to just swap out the item, stick it in my bag and zip out. But Ted convinced my to do a legitimate exchange at Customer Service, even though we had to wait in line. I know he was right - the child schools the parent!
Back on the road, the highway was nearly at a standstill. The other side of the freeway was completely empty - obviously shut down. Soon an endless line of motorcycles streamed past. It was the South LA "10-33" benefit ride for fallen police and firefighters ("10-33" is the police code for "emergency.") We were lucky to be on the other side, but it seemed to affect traffic on both sides. Ted kept his cool, even though I suspect he was simmering inside. We made it back with little time to spare - he quickly changed and shot out the door.
Hiustyn was working and Ted was playing, so I had a quiet afternoon. When Ted returned, he said some friends were having a party that evening. The last thing I wanted was for him to miss a fun evening because he had to babysit his mom! I told him he should go ahead, but he said I was invited, too, and should come along. Again, I didn't want to put a damper on his evening because he had to bring his mom along. But he finally convinced me, and I got myself ready. His buddy who lives nearby kindly picked us up and drove us all to their friends' house about thirty minutes away.
Most of the friends there were part of a co-ed recreational sports group that often plays beach football. The owners of the house had just moved in, and had a big, sweet dog that was the star of the party. Our hosts were busy trying to set up tables and lights in the little yard, and people congregated around the big table ( a makeshift old wooden door) filled with snacks. They started cooking on their little grill, and I did the mom thing by stepping in to do the job. I felt less intrusive with a job to do.
After a delicious meal, including my first grilled burger in months, everyone went inside to play games. Now this was my kind of party! They also had a version of JackboxTV, but with different games. I sat on the sofa, and as people filed in, they announced that only eight people could play at a time. I wanted to give others the opportunity, but they'd already counted me in. Ted and Hiustyn did not make the cut, however. Now I really felt awkward!
The game was Quiplash, where wittiness and creativity are key. You have to respond to prompts like,"After a hard day at work, I really just need to _______" or "Pick the name of a city and make it sound dirty." Every player gets two prompts. Each prompt is received by two players, who answer it independently. After all the answers are in, the game announces the prompt, and shows the two answers anonymously. Everyone who didn't get that prompt votes on their favorite response. The points are split based in the percentage of players who favored each response. As you can imagine, innuendo and humor often got the most votes. Guess who won?? After the first game, I thought I should give the others a chance to play 😉.
It was a fun evening with a very nice group of people, most of whom were transplants from various other parts of the country. Reminded my of our little neighborhood of transplants in Texas. I enjoyed meeting Ted's friends and getting a little peek into his life in LA.
I packed my bags the next morning and sadly said my goodbyes to my wonderfully generous hosts. The pain of our parting was softened by the fact that I would see them again the following month at a family wedding in Michigan.
Once through security at LAX, I had my last fix of American food with a delicious citrus chicken quesadilla at Border Grill. I was delighted to discover that my ride from Air China was actually parked at the gate this time - no thirty minute bus ride to the far reaches of the airport. I squeezed into my seat for the interminable flight back. Politeness eluded me as I decided I would claim my share of the armrests this time. Thirteen hours is just too long to keep my arms crossed!
It was evident just how bored I was on the flight when I started reading through the duty-free pages on the screen in front of me. It did have its entertainment value...
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