A Public Disturbance By Yours Truly

Yesterday, Mark and I took Ricky to the Bristol Renaissance Faire - just over the Illinois and Wisconsin border - as his reward for potty training. It was a nice day - great weather and the three of us were just excited to have a family day.

Let me start off by saying that I am always courteous to others - including strangers. I am the type of driver who lets people in front of me (as long as they use their turn signal) when driving, or lets the pregnant or elderly woman use the next available bathroom stall. As a librarian, I've been trained to be nice to people I don't know - but also to confront people when they're doing things they shouldn't be doing.

So Ricky and Mark were in line for the Ship Swings - which are these three wooden ships that swing. I was standing by the fence - just a few feet away from them, camera ready.

The line probably has about 16 groups waiting in line. Suddenly, the parade comes by - complete with the king and queen and their loyal subjects. All the people in line turn their heads to watch - but they are STILL in line.

Ricky and Mark were the 5th in line at the time, and this man who looked like Neuman from Seinfeld and his 5 year old daughter come up to the front of the line (next to where I was standing) and he said, "Can't tell where the line starts!!" - Clearly grasping the opportunity that the majority of the people in line have their heads turned the opposite direction. So he stood at the front of the line on the side with his daughter and didn't look like he was going anywhere. So I went up to him - about 8 inches away from his face and said, "Sir, the line starts back THERE" pointing to the back of the line. He totally pretended not to hear me.

Ok, if you want to play that way -

So he keeps standing there while the people in line go in the ride. Twice, I made motions for Mark to MOVE UP and he shrugged at me - clearly unaware of the man line-jumping. Sure enough, the man and his daughter make their move - and who do they cut in front of? Mark and Ricky.

The ship swing they were waiting for was right in front of me so of course I had to say something. I told him that it wasn't cool to line-jump and asked him if he felt good about setting an example for his daughter - letting her see that line-jumping is cool? He was very defensive and said that my husband should have spoken up, or moved up. I told him that I did tell him where the line was and that he pretended not to hear me. Any decent person would admit fault but this man raised his voice to the point of yelling at me. (for what?) I didn't swear because of the kids, but he was such an idiot that I left the conversation and said to him twice, "You're a loser." That actually hurt his feelings - I could tell from his face.

He looked at my belly and then told Mark that he and Ricky could take his ship. My husband said no, it was ok, but the man said that I was "freaking out" and insisted.

I guess I probably wouldn't have cared so much, but we had already waited 15 minutes in the heat for this ride - and I am pregnant and hormonal and didn't want to wait any longer than necessary - and this guy would cause me wait longer than I needed to.

After the ride, Mark told me he really didn't mind if the guy cut or not. I couldn't believe my ears because this is the same man who curses in the car when people try to merge in front of him. I have witnessed him intentionally tail-gating the car in front of him so the car merging can't get in front of us.

I guess I can't believe this guy would cut in line in front of so many little kids and their parents and not even care. It just goes to show that there are people out there who are so rude and inconsiderate of others and only care for themselves. I guess I run into so many nice people at the stores and the park on a daily basis that I have come to expect people to be nice in general.

So would you have said something to this guy - or would you have been silent and let him cut in front of so many people? Most of the people I have told this story to have told me that they would have stayed silent. Are you fricking kidding me?

Checking Out the Christmas Windows & Missing Marshall Field's

Mark and I decided to take Ricky downtown to see the windows, decorations, and stop by the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza. It was 25 degrees F, but we just bundled him up and went down early - the morning of Christmas Eve. It wasn't too busy down there at all - probably because it was early, cold, and the windows weren't all that exciting.

I remember going Christmas shopping downtown at Marshall Fields as a kid, and loving the windows and eating lunch at the Walnut Room. The very last Christmas that Fields was still Fields and not Macy's (2005), we took Ricky down along with my mom and ate our last Walnut Room lunch. It was good - and they had Mister and Missus Santa Bear and a big Elf came to our table for a visit.

Although the Nutcracker windows were nice, I remember the windows being more exciting in years past, with Harry Potter and other exciting themes. The inside of Macy's was decorated nicely, but I suppose I won't ever be happy with Macy's in general. In fact, my mother was missing Marshall Fields also, commenting to me that she bought ALL her gifts there - clothes, food, trinkets. It was her one-stop-shopping place. And now, this year, she really had a hard time running around to find appropriate, quality presents that matched those she used to buy from Marshall Fields each Christmas.

This time, we just walked around and looked at the windows which had the theme of The Nutcracker. I regret not planning in advance, because we ended up having lunch at McDonalds - which Ricky was just fine with - but with all the scary people at the restaurant, I would have preferred something a little nicer. Then we headed to Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza.

This was actually my first visiting the Christkindlmarket. Even when I worked downtown, I never found the time to go take a look. They have a huge Christmas tree, and lots of little shops that have all kinds of gifts, yummy chocolate, and ornaments. I was hoping to have the spiced wine, but it was so cold I didn't feel like it anymore - I wanted to make a run for our car in the parking garage.

In all, I found it to be a fun family day. Wished my sister and brother in law could have made it with us, but they had last minute shopping to do also. Maybe next year.

On Pursuing Pumpkins

When I gave birth to Ricky, I vowed that I would do everything in my power (and as much as my wallet allowed) to give Ricky fun and enriching experiences. This includes vacations, trips to museums, parks, playdates, and an annual trip to a pumpkin patch.

My parents never took me and my sister to a pumpkin patch and for this I do not feel like I am any less of a person because of it. But I do think it is one of those fun, family activities that lets you take some time out to enjoy the fall colors, have some fun as a family, and stuff yourself at the local Crackerbarrel restaurant afterwards.

As we did last year, this year we went to Siegel's Cottonwood Farm. Not only does it have a pumpkin patch, but a toddler train, a train for adults and kids to ride (new), hayrack rides, pony rides, petting zoo, corn maze, bouncy thing, and a big scary giant. They do a great job over there.

The three of us had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day. Unfortunately, my camera battery died when we first arrived, and I am so pissed off that I don't even have one picture to remember this day. But I guess I can just make up for it tonight, when I videotape Mark helping Ricky carve his big pumpkin.