So I had a pretty good but very busy weekend. I rented a car and drove my nephew Devin up
to Broome County Community College. Devin
is my brother’s oldest son and the only child I have ever claimed as my own (Don’t
ask). I picked up a Kia Soul and took my
sister & my niece Sam along for the ride.
I had to get up at 6am to take the Path Train to the Newport Center Mall
in New Jersey to pick up my car. After
walking around the daggone parking lot for like 20 minutes, I finally found the
car rental place. I was going to get a
full sized car but I heard one of the workers mention a Kia Soul so I asked if
I could have that one. I love the Kia
Soul but I realized almost immediately that it doesn’t have a whole lot of
trunk space if you have 4 people in the car.
We made it work though and at about 10:45 or so the rest of family said their
goodbyes to Devin and we pulled off.
I hadn’t had breakfast and apparently neither had anyone
else so after about an hour & a half of driving we stopped at a quick mart
and purchased sandwiches and snacks for the remainder of the trip. My sister and I both ordered these 6 inch Italian
subs for $2.99 and I must tell you that was the best damn sandwich that I have
had in a minute….really. It was
absolutely delicious.
We pulled up to the campus at a little before 2pm got him
registered and then drove to his new off campus housing digs (cuz somebody
waited till the last minute to do EVERYTHING and all of the dorm space was
gone). After a nice little wait for
keys (the realtor got tied up and was delayed for like an hour or so) she
finally arrived and we got him settled into his room. He
decided that he needed to take a nap so he passed on going shopping with us for
food & basic necessities. So the
three of us got in the truck and first stop at Family Dollar for the
necessities….I really should NOT go into Family Dollar because my first impulse
is to buy EVERYTHING I SEE (lol). We shopped
for about 40 minutes and then made our way to Wal-Mart for everything
else. If you know me at ALL….then you
already know how I feel about Wal-Mart (yup.
I could stay all day). We passed my Alma Mater Binghamton University on the way to Wal-Mart and I didn't even recognize it...it has expanded and it's HUGE now! When I was there back in 1979 the only option we had for food within walking distance was Denny's and Sambo's (Yup, Sambo's...don't ask). Now there are food chains everywhere! By the time we left Wal-Mart he had enough
food to last him at least a month and an emergency phone.
We got back to the house to find him refreshed after his “nap”
(that I don’t think he ever really took).
We got everything put away and by then it was almost 11pm and we
definitely needed to get back on the road, since I was the only one
driving. We took a couple of photos for posterity and give him plenty hugs and kisses (and a few tears from Sam) before we left. 
We crossed the GWB at about 1am, I dropped my sister off
first and then my niece. I headed back
to Harlem praying that a parking spot would be available. After circling the block a few times, I
actually found a spot right across the street from my house. Dead tired and knowing I had to be up in the next
4 hours to return the car back to New Jersey and then try to get in a quick nap before my next event...The It's All Relative Cast Brunch at City Crab.
It was a wonderful day and I am very proud of the young man
that my nephew has become. I was a
little concerned about him being away from home on his own for the very first
time but I realized that like me when I left home for school…he’s very excited
about being on his own. He’s gonna be
just fine.
College is the best time of
your life. When else are your parents going to spend several thousand
dollars a year just for you to go to a strange town and get drunk every
night? ~David Wood
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