The Drowned Lands
Jul. 7th, 2024 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mallorys_cameraStatistically, the hamlet of Wallkill is part of the greater Hudson River Valley, but geographically, it occupies its own little watershed, the Wallkill River Valley. The area is a kind of fens; before the southern part of it was drained in the 1880s, it used to be known as the Drowned Lands.
Where the landscape on the eastern bank of the Hudson runs to scrub woods, the landscape here is mostly farmland.
We’re in the midst of another heatwave, so I’ve been putting in my tromping miles between 8 and 10 am before the temps hit 85°.
I haven’t really explored many tromping options yet, so I’m sticking with the old rail trail for now:
The rail trail looks out on many picturesque vistas:
It’s pretty flat, though. So not much of a workout.
###
Iggy’s been up since Friday. I basically like Iggy, but I do find him a bit difficult to communicate with. Like we were talking about the MeetUp app and why it’s so useless—
“If I sign up for something, they send me like 20 reminders,” Iggy said. “I don’t want 20 MeetUp reminders.”
“That’s because their clients aren’t complaining,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Iggy said. “I’m their client. And I’m complaining.”
“But you’re not their client,” I said. “Their clients are the people who pay them money for their services—who I imagine would be the people who place the MeetUp events.”
Iggy scowled at me. “Their clients are the people who use their services—”
“No!” I said. “Their clients are the people who pay for their services. It’s kinda like they’re a B-to-B value proposition. You’re their client’s client.”
We went back and forth like this for 20 minutes. I am right, of course! 😀 Clients are people who pay for your services; as an end user of MeetUp activities, you pay the organizer of the activity, not the app. But there was no way I could articulate this rather elementary business principle so that Iggy would understand the distinction I was making. He didn’t want to see the distinction I was making; he wanted to be right.
###
I also met the mother of the Iggy offspring. Classic shiksa! Christine! 😀 Very blonde, very personable.
He doesn’t like her very much. I can’t tell whether that makes her nervous or whether she really does have airhead tendencies.
Both kids are on Adderall and other neurodivergency meds. Last night there was some mix-up, and Dante ended up taking a strong stimulant in the evening, which kept him up most of the night.
Iggy decided this was Christine’s fault—Christine is the keeper of the prescriptions and puts enough pills in the medicine vial to sustain Dante on his trips to his Dad’s house. She mixes the various scripts in a single vial, and Iggy apparently gave Dante the wrong pill.
“Yes, yes, that’s totally on me,” said Christine when she came over this morning to chauffeur Dante to his job at Burger King. “I’m really, really sorry—”
“You should be,” Iggy said.
All this in front of Dante.
But, honestly. I don’t know whether it is totally on Christine. If my kids were on powerful drugs, I would make it my business to become a walking pharmacopeia. I would memorize what the drugs looked like and check everything a dozen times before I dispensed a single pill.
If you have a kid with someone, you gotta stay friends with that someone until the kid is 18. Even if you have to lie to yourself.
Where the landscape on the eastern bank of the Hudson runs to scrub woods, the landscape here is mostly farmland.
We’re in the midst of another heatwave, so I’ve been putting in my tromping miles between 8 and 10 am before the temps hit 85°.
I haven’t really explored many tromping options yet, so I’m sticking with the old rail trail for now:
The rail trail looks out on many picturesque vistas:
It’s pretty flat, though. So not much of a workout.
###
Iggy’s been up since Friday. I basically like Iggy, but I do find him a bit difficult to communicate with. Like we were talking about the MeetUp app and why it’s so useless—
“If I sign up for something, they send me like 20 reminders,” Iggy said. “I don’t want 20 MeetUp reminders.”
“That’s because their clients aren’t complaining,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Iggy said. “I’m their client. And I’m complaining.”
“But you’re not their client,” I said. “Their clients are the people who pay them money for their services—who I imagine would be the people who place the MeetUp events.”
Iggy scowled at me. “Their clients are the people who use their services—”
“No!” I said. “Their clients are the people who pay for their services. It’s kinda like they’re a B-to-B value proposition. You’re their client’s client.”
We went back and forth like this for 20 minutes. I am right, of course! 😀 Clients are people who pay for your services; as an end user of MeetUp activities, you pay the organizer of the activity, not the app. But there was no way I could articulate this rather elementary business principle so that Iggy would understand the distinction I was making. He didn’t want to see the distinction I was making; he wanted to be right.
###
I also met the mother of the Iggy offspring. Classic shiksa! Christine! 😀 Very blonde, very personable.
He doesn’t like her very much. I can’t tell whether that makes her nervous or whether she really does have airhead tendencies.
Both kids are on Adderall and other neurodivergency meds. Last night there was some mix-up, and Dante ended up taking a strong stimulant in the evening, which kept him up most of the night.
Iggy decided this was Christine’s fault—Christine is the keeper of the prescriptions and puts enough pills in the medicine vial to sustain Dante on his trips to his Dad’s house. She mixes the various scripts in a single vial, and Iggy apparently gave Dante the wrong pill.
“Yes, yes, that’s totally on me,” said Christine when she came over this morning to chauffeur Dante to his job at Burger King. “I’m really, really sorry—”
“You should be,” Iggy said.
All this in front of Dante.
But, honestly. I don’t know whether it is totally on Christine. If my kids were on powerful drugs, I would make it my business to become a walking pharmacopeia. I would memorize what the drugs looked like and check everything a dozen times before I dispensed a single pill.
If you have a kid with someone, you gotta stay friends with that someone until the kid is 18. Even if you have to lie to yourself.
no subject
Date: 2024-07-07 09:34 pm (UTC)And after a cursory glance at a map, what about that River-to-Ridge Trail? And the Mohonk Mountain House stuff? Things must be explored!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-10 12:53 am (UTC)Iggy has several bikes in the basement & told me I could borrow one. He's shorter than I am, but his kids are taller, so one of the bikes might be the right size. If I put the back seat down, I should be able to fit it into the car.
There are a fair number of cyclists on the road here, particularly as one gets closer to New Paltz. But there are no shoulders to the roads and, of course, no dedicated bike paths, so I'd probably be a bit nervous riding on the roads. (I am an old lady, after all. 😀)
no subject
Date: 2024-07-08 12:00 am (UTC)So much of life seems to be about trying harder than we want to on stuff. Stuff we don't want to do at all. It helps if we have motivation ("my kid's well-being!!") but when we don't want to do a thing, it's really easy to come up with excuses. (Still doesn't make it right, but boy do I get it.)
Drowned Lands is hugely evocative!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-10 12:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-07-08 08:08 am (UTC)You are in a liminal place.
I know all places are liminal but some show it more. Storylands!
no subject
Date: 2024-07-10 12:47 am (UTC)