Woman in the Middle

It was spring break from college around here so Hubby decided to take off today (Friday) so we could go do something  as a family. With two kids in their 20s, these opportunities are getting to be fewer and fewer so we try to take advantage of the chance when we can.   Youngest and I put on our thinking caps and decided to visit The Grove in Los Angeles, which is an outdoor mall. Right next to it is the historic Farmer’s Market. Once to park, two things to visit!

The night before we went, we watched the first episode of “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” It is an original series from Netflix. It is about a young woman who had spent the last fifteen years in a bunker as part of an apocalyptic cult. When she comes out and uses a public restroom for the first time you can imagine how puzzled she was by the sink faucet that turned on by itself when you run your hands under it. When she finally got the water to start she screamed in surprise and glee.

As we went about our business at the Grove, we were beginning to feel a lot like Kimmy Schmidt, without the cult. The first toilet we encountered didn’t have a handle and, after waiting a moment, didn’t flush itself. Not what? Finally, I touched a circle on the wall and, voila! It flushed! I could have shouted with glee, just like Kimmy.

We ate lunch and then I used the restaurant bathroom. (I believe in never passing up a restroom opportunity.) Happily, the toilet flushing mechanism was very normal. But the sink….There was a little device on the wall that I though was the soap dispenser. I pushed it up and down several times and finally realized when I pushed it down the water came on. Then I saw the soap dispenser. As that point, I was really feeling like some hick who was visiting the big city for the first time! However, it did give the family a big laugh when I got back to the table.

Being at a popular destination in Los Angeles did give us other experiences as well. There was the fact that we seemed to be surrounded by people who spoke some language other than English or Spanish, which is not something we experience frequently in inland So Cal. I popped into the famous American Girl doll store just for kicks and giggles. I saw very expensive dolls and their very expensive accessories. Most amusing of all, I saw the doll hair salon where a little girl was patiently waiting while a young woman gave her American Girl doll a braided hair style. We certainly don’t have one of those places where I live.

I will tell you more about our day out later, including a couple of photos, but I just had to tell you about what happens when the hicks visit the big city!