Doug Goldstein

Thinking back on today I was reminded of a story my mother told me once. Before I was born and before my mother moved to NYC, she lived in Bellmore (out on Long Island), somewhere near Merrick Rd. At some point the neighbors had their neice and her husband come live with them, they’d just come to the US… blah blah blah… Anyway… they were about my mother’s age so they became friends but my mom was still learning English and so were they. But my mom remembers that one time the couple decided they were going to see California and so my mom asked them how they were going to get there… and they told my mom “Merrick Rd”, and that they’d just take it until it took them to California. Which if you’re from Long Island could easily be understandable that they thought this road went everywhere since it is the alpha and omega of local roads on Long Island. Well one day they up and left and just about a year later my mom got a post card from them saying that they made it there and love it and they’re going to stay, that they found their happiness and that they’d taken Merrick Rd. (I kid you not, she showed it to me)

Now, time to relate this back into why I spent so much talking about it. In a way sometimes 441 or 13th st is my “Merrick Rd”. My parents live near 441 now, Jamie and her parents live just off of 441, and I too live on 441. So, basically I went driving today and got on 441 and just wanted to keep going until it got me away from class, away from everything that happened this summer, and away from G’ville. Unfortunately I think I took it the wrong way… So I cruised through Payne’s Praire and decided to turn around… the Focus performed beautifully in a 55mph handbrake through the U-turn… and raced up 441 at 100mph… Just before I got to my apartment I managed to pass a cop at about 95mph… Luckily he was going the other way but that only bought me some time. He popped on his lights and made the quickest U-turn he could. Unfortunately for him I was doing 95mph and managed to make it to the entrance to my apartment complex… a little weaving back in there and parking and he had lost me. Oh well. Fun stuff.

Maybe someday I’ll go to my “California” on my “Merrick Rd”, right now it feels like my “California” is somewhere adrift.

Filed under: Personal

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