Last night’s dinner view.
We were all up just after 4 AM this morning, stumbling past one another, as Susan prepared to drive back to Minnesota, while Diane, Peter, Matthew and I hurried to stuff our car to get to generous Dan’s house so he could taxi us to Logan. We flew out on time and arrived in Aruba at about 11:30. Peter, who’d made his own travel plans much later than we did, landed an hour later.
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On the plane – almost there.
Diane: What’s the weather in Aruba?
Matt: The pilot said 90 and overcast.
Me: It’s never overcast in Aruba.
Matt: I don’t care about never, the pilot said overcast.â€
Me: He said some clouds.
Matt: I can hear, you can’t, he said overcast.
Me: Just wait until we land.
Matt: I don’t care what’s there, Mom asked me what the pilot said, and he said overcast.
Me: We’ll see.
Matt: No we won’t see. It’s not about seeing. It’s about what the pilot said. I can’t have another one of these arguments about facts.
We landed and it was partly cloudy. I know, that wasn’t the point.
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The irritating thing about this island which is full of friendly people, all of whom are more laid back that we northerners, is the cost of food and drink. A beer is six bucks. Last night we paid more, according to me.
Me: Matt, how much beer is in your glass?
Matt: Twelve ounces.
Me: That’s not twelve ounces.
Matt: Don’t do this. I saw him pour my glass from the bottle, as did mom, and he emptied the bottle.
Me: That is not twelve ounces.
Matt: Mom, stop him. Did the waiter empty the bottle into my glass?
Mom: He did. I saw it.
Me: Matt, you know what twelve ounces is, you drink beer from cans. How much is in that glass?
Matt: Twelve ounces
Me: The bottle has a false bottom or something because that’s eight ounces, no more.
Matt: I can’t have another argument about facts. We can argue about writers but not fact.
I stopped by the bar on the way out and discovered the bottles they use, though shaped the same, hold only eight ounces. This isn’t about who’s right, it’s about paying six bucks for an eight ounce beer.
adam
Islands are captive places, both for the provisioners and the provisioned. You could probably Google what it cost them to arrange for that beer, but it could not possibly add to your enjoyment of it, so have round on me and we’ll settle up when you return … ! What’s that view worth, anyway … !
michael
The view is worth so much more than the cost of that beer. The nice thing about that restaurant, other than the view and Peter picking up the tab, is that it’s all alone on of a hill that has desert and moon-like qualities.
Btw,Diane says she’s happy, happy, happy here in Aruba.
matthew
for the last fucking time, overcast is the same thing as partly cloudy.
jennifer
Is THAT what you said? That’s not what Mike said you said.
You know “Home, home on the range … where the skies are not cloudy all day”? As a New Englander, I always thought it was a valid question, did it mean: the skies don’t stay cloudy ALL day, or the skies are never cloudy (at least, not in the daylight)?
el Kib
Who knows what liberties the author might have taken with the dialogue? But since facts have been invoked, the “o” word is loosely defined as “more than 95 percent covered by clouds” (or a full “8/8ths summation layer amount” in some circles) — which isn’t much the same thing as partly cloudy (i.e. “The state of the weather when clouds are conspicuously present but do not completely dull the sky or the day at any moment”). Me, I think that one looks like a caterpillar; and that one looks like a Corona bottle; and that one …
michael
And that one like a One Armed Bandit waiting for my hard earned coin.
smiling dan
Matt, I agree that facts are facts — but you better check them! 8 12!
Best comment line: Happy Happy Happy.