Girls Day Out - Ghost Pepper Riders in the Sky

When someone puts a plate down with a big cheese covered steak and ghost pepper mashed potatoes on the table front of you, it's hard to notice the world around you.

But such a world it was today, the sun shining, the skies, clear. Outside the window of the Pub, people walked, some in decorous constraint, other with the abandon of Spring, on bikes and skateboards and roller skates.  Clusters of tourist walked through, marveling over the "Broad River" (huh"), gathering up in the middle of the trail as if there had been some recent train wreck there.  Down the path, a hippie is stymied by a fence of plastic sheeting put up across one entrance to the path, just staring at it with  that still, impatient gaze, as if the fence were some cow in the road, and he was simply waiting for it to move aside.

On the corner, a man in a red tutu and a girl with painted face collect money in a bright red bucket from motorists, not begging, a fundraiser of sorts, perhaps for the art park, perhaps some home for wayward mime's.

It's a place where I've walked many steps with many friends.

It's the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple.  But I didn't notice.

Because next to the hand cut sirloin dusted with Cajun blackening spice, and topped with a fiery sharp blue cheese crust and ghost pepper cheesy mashed potatoes was deep fried breaded jalapeno slices.  I'd ordered one of their personal sized pizzas, since I'd had such a big breakfast, and like that Springfield 1911 at the Amish gun show at a seriously good price that I didn't bring home,  I was starting to regret not getting the steak special

Fortunately, someone shared their ghost pepper cheesy potatoes with me.

It was girl's day out, one long overdue, my spirit not up for company the last five weeks, just wanting to mend, and write, and mend some more.   But today was a good day to get back out into the world, and perhaps smile again.  I missed the gun show as I'd had an exceptionally long day yesterday and just wanted to chill for a few hours, but soon I was ready to go.

After lunch, and some reminiscing about old friends of the two and four legged kind, Tam and I hit the trail.  Based on the calories consumed for breakfast and lunch, I will need to walk to. . . . . Ottawa.  Well, perhaps just up the trail for a ways

I have never seen the river this high since I moved to Indiana.

Below is what it usually looks like.

There's actual whitecaps out there today, due to the strong current We had some serious rain the other day.

It was a good day for the browncoat, the little pullover is just not enough, it being colder than it looks.

 OK, a couple of you asked about "Sassy hair".  Here it is, after the annual sheep shearing in preparation for summer, as short as it's been in years.

 There were all kinds of pups on the trail, but these were our favorites.

 Wow!  A blond AND a redhead!

Why yes, we will pose for you, for a small sitting fee  (pets and biscuits accepted, no American Express)

 Then it was off to Rene's Bakery for a loaf of, still warm from the oven, Brioche to make French toast in the morning and to collect my ride

 What?  That's not my ride? 

 Oh yeah, this is my ride.  Hopefully no hippies wrote "wash me" on the tailgate in retaliation for that old flinging of the mussel shells incident at the Belgium Brew Pub last summer.

 So many things to see and do in Broad Ripple.

As I got to the truck I saw it, no, I'll think I'll pass. . . .

I'd rather go to Half Priced Books!  Not always, but if you're patient, sometimes you can get a neat little find there.

SCORE!

Bonanza Books of New York published Firearms Curiosa in 1955, and it is still the best-known of Winant’s books.

The contents, in order, are:
Combination Weapons; Miniature Firearms; Two-Barrel Revolvers, Two-Cylinder Revolvers; Squeezers and Knuckledusters; Alarm and Trap Guns; Knife Pistols and Cane Guns; Other Disguised Guns; Superposed Loads; Turret and Chain Guns; and Miscellaneous.

And Partner was all worried that  I'd be bored while he was on a business trip to Europe. " Honey, I'm home and why is there a Turret Gun in the Parlor?"

The book has got a lot of info on the one-of-a-kind museum pieces as well as mass-produced items such as the WWII-vintage Liberator single-shot .45 made by GM’s Guide Lamp division.

And who couldn't use a 24-shot revolver, (great, Cowboy, the 25th train robber just showed up), an armored vest with 19 pistol barrels sticking out of it, or a pistol that's a functional tobacco pipe.

It beats staying home all day and cleaning,

Too soon, it was time to go back to the crash pad, the morning and afternoon almost gone, the sun starting to drowse a bit in the sky. 

All in all, a good day, stored memories, to add to the memories that remain.

- Brigid