Edna, Part Deux

Remember Edna? The restaurant yenta who wanted to split the check? When all I had was a cup of coffee?

Well, there's more.

I liked to go into New York to see concerts, foreign movies, the New York Philharmonic, eat at foreign restaurants that don't feature baked ziti on the menu, or just to hang around the old metrop. Edna also liked to visit New York--before dark, and in somebody else's car.

You see, Edna was a therapist, and all the other therapists drove brand-new Lincolns, which I guess was the car of choice for the therapist community. So Edna drove a brand-new Lincoln, with all the bells and whistles, while I drove a Taurus, period. You know what I mean by a Taurus, period? It's a nice, reliable, middle-aged car, suitable for a middle-aged clergyman or librarian--in a word, me.

So who should drive into New York--before dark, of course? Well, me, of course, in my TP. Her car was much too good to drive into New York. It might get stolen, or get a dent, or something. Anyway, I did the driving, and Edna paid the tolls. When it came to parking, I was on my own. Edna believed that there must be a parking space somewhere, and we usually did find one. Not necessarily close to where we were going, but undeniably a parking space. So we parked for free and got some aerobic exercise, to boot. What's not to like?

These daytime New York trips continued until the time I got two tickets to a show which had been written by one of our library patrons, who was a professional writer. We got a special price, but still, it wasn't free. Anyway, I got the tickets, we saw the show, it was enjoyable, and we had dinner.

On the way home, I reminded her that I had paid for the tickets. As I recall, they cost $50--a non-negligible amount. She didn't have the cash on her and had forgotten her checkbook, but would be happy to send me a check.

I drove her home and insisted on going into her house and waiting while she wrote me a check for the $50.

I believe that was our last New York visit.