FO: missoni-style opera gloves

finished in the nick of time. we were in the adirondacks for the weekend and i had forgotten my gloves. it was coooold up there. but apparently not cold enough to keep the deer in their...where the hell do deer live anyway?

the point is, we were driving on a twisting mountain road in heavy rain and pitch darkness when our trusty passat was hit by a deer. it was just like one of those vw commercials where the people are driving along, yapping about the preeminence of pabst blue ribbon over bud when, BAM.

i was sitting in the back holding our little dog-son mac. all i remember seeing is a white splash on the windshield. thank god no one was hurt. besides the deer, that is. and then, no one even bothered to stop. except some toothless guy in an old pickup who sped off in the direction of the fallen deer the moment we told him we were okay. (wait mister! our cell phones don't work!)

limping along with a smashed and steaming radiator, dimming lights, broken alternator and god knows what else, we finally made it about 10 miles up the road to a charming burg known as star lake. there in the heart of town, the nice 'n' easy mini-mart, they were kind enough to let us use their phone to call the police.


poor mac waited anxiously in the car while we scurried about, filing the police report, calling AAA, and trying to rustle up a cab driver willing to drive 45 minutes to pick us up. (thanks, al.)


as it turns out, the way to an innkeeper's heart isn't loyal patronage, guest referrals, or extravagant tipping. i recommend having your car totaled by a deer. works like a charm. we arrived at our destination about two hours later to find the lodge fridge stocked with food and our rooms laden with wine and snacks. awww, shucks, guys. you shouldn't have.

from there, it was smooth sailing. we had the busted-up vehicle towed back home, rented a car, and drove home sunday night. all's well that ends well. or so we thought.

the next morning, jim left for a biz trip at about 6 am. he called me from the airport about an hour later to tell me his briefcase (with laptop inside) had been stolen out of the rental car while it was parked in our driveway.

oh yeah, that, and the mets lost.

but i still have my opera gloves.