AUGUST 20, 2009 - RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
Buon giorno and Good Day!
Cookbook greetings to all the faithful supporters of *Rosalie Serving Cookbooks,* both Italian, and now, soon to be Country. As most of you know, I have been vacationing in sunny Florida the last 8 days, both at Disney World, and the last few days, at the beautiful Smyrna Beach. This proved to be a great arrangement, because after running from theme park to theme park in Disney, accompanied by six grandchildren, plus parents, the beach was a welcome melt down.
The last day was especially wonderful, although a little frightening. The Orlando airport was a little over an hour away from the beach, and it was my idea to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, Chick-Filet, before we drove to the airport. Since we had eaten there twice during the vacation, (a drive-through), I wanted to find one that we could go in and sit down. The receptionist from the hotel gave us directions and we were on our way. As we learned latter, the sit-down Chick-Filet was a ways past the drive-through one, and we had inadvertently passed it.
I love to ask directions…several times, and on the second inquiry, I noticed a store front in a strip mall with the following name over the door; *SHOES WAREHOUSE OF FLORIDA* - All Shoes $7.99/pair. Glancing at the door of shop, I noticed the owners opened at 12:00 noon. I looked at my watch and thought, this will be perfect. We can eat lunch and come back this way just in time for the store to open.
Getting back in the car, I mentioned the store to Bill, and he promptly said, "You have just 20 minutes to shop in order for us to make the plane departure at 2:45 pm." "Oh thank you, thank you," I said, "I'll be sure to watch the time."
After a pleasant lunch, we drove back to the little strip mall, walking into the store right at 12:00 o'clock. I instantly felt like this must be an extension of Fibber McGee's closet. There were hundreds of shoes, from the ceiling to the floor, and everywhere in between. The aisles were very narrow and only two people at a time could get through. "Welcome to our warehouse," the lady said, "just tell me your size and I will gladly bring you any shoe you choose, and if you buy three or more, the price drops to $7.00/pair."
Did you ever feel like "Christmas in July?" The feeling of being surrounded by great name-brand shoes, some beautiful, crazy, cute, and trendy, and in every color, shape and size, was, to say the least, overwhelming. I began trying on shoes like crazy, and after 30 minutes, my husband, Bill, came in to say we had to leave immediately. While the lady was packing up shoes, I was picking out a few extra pair for my granddaughter, Taylor.
Jumping in the car and racing to the airport, Bill had one question, "How in the world do you expect to get 10 pairs of shoes on the plane?" "And," he went on to say, "Rosalie, if you make us miss this plane, I may have to kill you…slowly." "Oh, Bill, it was just such great fun….we will make it, right?"
It was then 1:10 pm, and we were still 45 minutes away from the airport, plus we had to return the rental car. The drive was unusually silent, until we reached the airport, and Bill finally said, "You better "Run for Your Life." It was at this point that I actually became scared, especially at the ticket counter when the attendant asked, "Lady, what have you got in all those packages?" "Shoes?" I replied. Well you have to get them into a large bag, or something. "Yes sir," I said, and I promptly ran to the Disney Store across the way. Running back to the counter, I began to pack all the shoes into two very large bags. From that point on I was running with the 10 pair of shoes, plus my purse, carry-on bag and 2 hats. Gate 96 was at the end of the airport, and when I heard the loud speaker say, "three minutes to boarding," my heart fell. But, alas, with 3 minutes left and my 10 pair of shoes, we entered the walk way.
While, everyone has been laughing non stop after listening to this saga, my husband, Bill, has suffered post traumatic syndrome. The only thing I could do was to make him his favorite dessert, Country Apple Pie. So, have fun, and if you ever find a shoe store on the way to the airport, you had better… "Run for Your Life!" See you at the Rendezvous Café for a great Cooking Class on September 14. Call for reservations: 636-272-8687.
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