Last week a fresh yellow center line was painted down Cayuga Street. In hindsight it was a sure sign of the mayhem that would come to this small town, because today traffic is heavily bloated out there on the streets of Ithaca. Why? It’s commencement time again! That special time when ‘the parents’ descend on Ithaca, turning simple activities around here into a hassle.

Today I even spotted a car with Saskatchewan plates and was tempted to leave a friendly note of recognition and national solidarity on the windshield.

It’s not as hectic as it is just before classes begin in the fall though, when even a humdrum grocery run becomes a battle with ‘the parents’, who generously take their freshman kids on a shopping extravaganza to stock their new dorm rooms for the year ahead.

And tomorrow, following last year’s address by Bill Clinton, Gen. Wesley Clark will be speaking at Cornell. Tickets are restricted to graduates and their guests, however, so we won’t be attending.

I think after this weekend it will be significantly quieter around here. As I’ve mentioned before there are six units in our house, and come August (lease time) just us and one other tenant will be sticking around. The rest are moving on.

Comment RSS - Pinging is currently not allowed.