After Christmas I went out with my friend Linda. Linda and I lived next door to each other in a duplex when I first moved to RI, in 1975. She was married, and my boyfriend worked with her husband as a waiter in a good restaurant. We all drank a lot and it was a pretty sloppy life. We all fought a lot, too. One night Linda cooked a nice ham dinner for Jeff, but he came home late and drunk, and through the wall between our homes we could hear her throw the whole dinner--ham, potatoes, etc., complete with dishes--across the room at him. Oh, it was a great way to become an adult.
Anyway, Linda now lives in Jamestown, has lived alone for a lot longer than I have. This is the new Jamestown Bridge. Jamestown is on an island in the middle of Narragansett Bay, between my mother's home and Newport.
The old Jamestown bridge was horrible to drive on--no barrier between the two lanes, steel decking. I sort of liked it because it made me feel pretty brave and reckless to not be fearful when I drove across it. Plus you had a much better view from it than from this one. They blew up the old bridge and it was on TV all over the place. Americans are easily entertained.
Anyway, Linda and I agreed to meet, as we usually do at Christmas. I was hoping for a nice lunch, then back to Liza's, but L. decided she wanted "to make a day of it." We had a nice time touring Newport, driving along Ocean Drive, past all the mansions, touring downtown. It was my turn to pay for lunch--$75, then we went to an expensive inn for drinks, which she paid for. The house wine was $11 a glass and the bar bill was $42. I can't imagine spending that kind of money anywhere but Newport, but I'm such a bumpkiin that I'm sure plenty of places cost lots and lots more.
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