this one found in a recent drive through Frederick, MD:
Not knowing if it had been named for lawless behavior taking place there, I chose to drive on by and not risk any assault or vehicle damage. But I have to admit to being a bit “creeped out” by the mere thought of it. Who would want to live on Ambush Alley?
When I got home I did some research on line, and couldn’t find any firm reason for the name in Frederick. The only info about “the name, not connected with the town” was from the early 1950’s and early 2000’s. Apparently during both the Korea and Iraq conflicts, there was a road upon which the US troops were ambushed whenever they used it. Makes me wonder if the name in Frederick originated there?
…being recognized as female can be a helpful attribute!
Recently I was running my errands in a nearby town, wearing a nondescript women’s polo top and pair of women’s shorts, with my slide sandals, etcetera. I pulled into a “strip-mall-type shopping center”, and found my way forward soon blocked by an illegally-parked car – with driver still inside. I waited a bit for them to start moving, which didn’t happen. While I waited, a truck from a well-known “alternative delivery service” – NOT the US Postal Service – roared up behind. After a few seconds, the driver honked his horn at me.
The driver of the still-illegally-parked car rolled down her window and motioned for us to go around. So I started maneuvering my car to get past her without hitting anything or anyone. The delivery truck driver was impatient and started blowing his horn harder and longer. After I got past the parked car (which was obviously waiting for someone shopping in a nearby store) I pulled into a parking place just beyond her, to go into another store. The delivery driver finally got past both of us, and pulled into a parking place several spaces beyond my car, taking two of them in the process. He angrily jumped out and headed in my direction, obviously to confront me, just as I exited my car. My sandals and white toe nails were first out of the car – his first clue. Then my purse and long hair swung into view.
I thought I heard “oh, just a dumb broad” as he stopped in his tracks, turned around and began muttering and sulking as he walked back to his truck, defeated without lifting a finger. Guess he didn’t want to risk a confrontation that he “might” win physically (or might not – I was clearly the taller and heavier “contestant”), but he would without a doubt lose the fight legally, and perhaps be given the opportunity to find a new career in the process – if his employer chose to fire him for assaulting someone while on duty. There was a perfect witness: that illegally-parked driver whose actions started it all! And because I’ve already had issues with that delivery company’s service, this incident has cost them. They’ve now lost any personal overnight mail business I might have. They’re definitely not the only “fish in the sea.”
So always remember, you never know what excitement your day might bring! It was an unexpected surprise…which could have turned out so badly for one (or both) of us.
Mandy
PS: Three days later, that same delivery company delivered a shipment ordered prior to the incident above, by placing it in front of our home’s garage door while I was out, instead of the covered front porch. I rescued it before putting the car in the garage. Had I been home that day instead of out and about, I’d likely have backed over the box the next morning! Another “nail in their coffin.”
Because of a transient eye problem, I had to end up eliminating two days of sightseeing (and two nights in motels.) Instead, I settled for one day of sightseeing in Western Maryland, and one night in a motel, near where I would pick up Wifey the next day. Some of the sights I visited were:
The first stop (first pic above) was the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, where an outdoor display is interurban #168 from the Hagerstown & Frederick Railway. (Picture 1 above.) Hagerstown trolley service was devastated in 1917 when a fire destroyed the car barn and all of the streetcars and interurbans inside. One of the victims of this fire was a wood bodied Brill interurban numbered 168. The company quickly ordered replacement cars and received this replacement #168. This car was the first steel-sided trolley in the system and frequently traveled both the main line to Frederick and the Williamsport branch. It was one of three cars involved in the Last Trolley trip to Williamsport on August 4, 1947. After retirement the car was moved alongside the Potomac River where it served as a cabin until the 1970s. It was acquired by a model railroad club and sat outside the Hagerstown Fairgrounds for many years before being moved to its present home and donated to the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum.
Next, I drove about 7 miles west of Hagerstown on US-40, the old “National Road”, to the Wilson Bridge which carried the highway over Conococheague Creek. (Pictures 2 & 3 above.) At 210 ft, this 5-arch bridge was built in 1819, and was replaced by the I-70 bridge to its south circa 1970, but left open. However, damage from Hurricane Agnes in 1972 forced its closure to vehicular traffic. It’s the longest of Washington County’s stone bridges.
Then it was on to another batch of historic sites, and I finally stopped for the night at a motel in West Virginia!
I suspect that wearing my mask indoors took away opportunities for the few bystanders to evaluate my gender, and they went with that indicated by my clothes and general appearance/demeanor. While most sites I visited were sans staff and with few visitors, whenever I interacted with people, they interpreted me as a woman. The day before I picked up Wifey, I chose another of Mom’s black tunic tops and my white skirt, with white sandals. The next day, I removed the skirt and added a pair of white shorts just before picking Wifey up. And there was no issue about my attire.
Due to the pandemic, I carried my own refreshments and meals, to avoid being around people not wearing masks while in restaurants. Only once did I go inside for lunch – the day I picked up Wifey – and that was only to scoot into a gas station and buy us prepackaged cold sandwiches for our lunch. The downside of not using restaurants…fewer chances to socialize. (Maybe someday we can collectively get our lives back to some semblance of “normal.”)
Restrooms were not an issue…the “real ones” at parks and historic sites were closed. In their place, many had installed porta-pots. Which I used – when you gotta go, you gotta go. Not my favorite thing, of course, but I carried hand sanitizer. (And used it liberally!) Because the containers of sanitizer with each porta-pot either were already empty, or more often, had been stolen…
It was a fun week, and I plan to try to take in the sights I had to miss because of the “changed plans” sometime later this year.
Today one of my objectives was to find some airplanes.
And there were places to look for them. We have a few aviation museums on the Delmarva, and those were my aim. I actually did get to one of them, but unfortunately could not get any really good selfies. And I had to wear my ballet flats – I wanted to walk around the planes, which are usually parked on the grass, and didn’t want to ruin my sandals!
This one picture will have to do:
After I was done looking around, I found a gaggle of guys my age standing around, telling war stories and talking about flying. I listened for a while but didn’t have much to add, so I left for home. At sun-up the next day, I knew I had some errands to run in town. Which meant “no dress.” I put on one of Mom’s black tunics, white shorts, white slide sandals and all my other accessories.
At the grocery store, when I reached the check-out counter, the clerk didn’t’ hesitate to address me as female, and when she finally saw my nails close-up, she wanted to know all about them. (Fortunately there was nobody else in line! Don’t we just love to “girl talk?”) She would like to have a set like mine – in all acrylic since she wants them to last more than a week or two. (I was silently agreeing with her, and thinking how nice it would be!)
While there were still a couple days till I pick Wifey up from her trip. I’d made big plans for a couple of days of distant touring – with 3 overnight stays. But due to a transient eye problem which required an impromptu visit to “urgent care”, I had to switch from contacts to my old glasses, and abandon those plans. Plans changed. Only 1 night out, the rest day trips.
And I have a few things to do around the house, but I can do them in dresses. Just hope the doorbell doesn’t ring!
For this longer day, I elected to “get dressed.” There was a lot on the day’s agenda. Before my first tour stop, I detoured to my favorite isolated little boat launch site, to get some pictures for the day.
Today’s attire was my new blue/black/white floral dress and off-white sandals (1st pic below):
I made a number of sightseeing stops. These included (but were not limited to) the Bucktown Village Store (on the “Harriet Tubman Byway, 2nd pic below), where slave Harriet Tubman carried out her first act of “defiance against her owner ” back in 1835 – which was one of the “seeds” which grew into the so-called Underground Railroad to free the slaves, and also the Bestpitch Ferry bridge (site of a former ferry across the Transquaking River, 3rd pic below) – another stop on the Byway. The old wooden bridge itself was closed and under repair, allowing some good pictures of its underpinnings.
I visited sites in both Maryland and Delaware, as there are many worth seeing. No, there were not many direct interactions with people. At no time did I feel unsafe, and I noticed no “side-eyes” (from the few nearby pedestrians) cast in my direction. Yes, it was a long day, and totally worth the drive. And after numerous other sightseeing stops, lastly was the Denton (MD) Steamboat Wharf. During the 1850’s steamboats loaded with passengers and freight departed Denton weekly, headed for Baltimore. It also played a part in the Underground Railroad.
Wearing my dress was extremely comfortable, particularly in the hot weather! We’ll see if tomorrow’s dress is just as comfortable!
The first day after my nail appointment found me out and about in my new white skirt and pretty pink blouse. It felt really different to leave the house thusly attired (yes, I was alone at home). And nobody was outside, so there was no undue attention called to my outfit – particularly since I was able to enter the car inside the garage. Here’s my outfit, taken at a convenient spot I’ve used before for selfies:
I made a number of other stops that day, most on the other side of the bay, and though I had very few interactions with people (properly masked, when necessary) I did not notice receiving any undue attention. Apparently I was “just another woman out shopping.” Nobody was in the mode of identifying anyone with gender-specific greetings. So that was a good thing.
A few words on the lovely pink blouse I’m wearing…it was Mom’s. I kept it at home with some other of her clothes for her emergency use, but took it to her when she needed a blouse “way back when.” However, when she passed away last year, I donated her clothes at the nursing home to those folks in need there. Several weeks later, after I got home from picking up a big box with all her personal effects and room decorations, I found a bag containing a couple pairs of her stirrup pants, four black tunics, and this top. The note to me said something to the effect of:
“We know you’ll love these stirrup pants and get lots of use out of them! The pretty black tunics were brand new, but didn’t fit your mom when she got them as a donated present last Christmas. They should fit you perfectly, will be ideal with your stirrup pants or shorts, and make a pretty addition to your wardrobe. Pair your mom’s pink blouse with your white shorts and sandals. Better yet, buy yourself a couple cute knee-length white skirts to wear with your sandals – or for a dressier look, those lovely ballerina flats you wear. Everyone will love your fresh and stylish new appearance.” It was unsigned, of course…someone apparently dropped it into the bag with the clothes, and it was a few weeks after I took the box home that I found it. And I’m so glad they did it – her stirrup pants and black tunics fit me perfectly and they’re fine – Wifey has already made them have part of my everyday wardrobe. When I wear them with some of Mom’s jewelry, I can’t help but think of her.
Of course, this pink top (and white skirt I bought to go with it), are buried, as neither would pass the “spouse test.” But her blouse fits me fairly well now that I’ve lost some weight, and I’ll enjoy wearing it when I can. I truly never thought I’d inherit and be wearing Mom’s pretty (and feminine) hand-me-downs! (Perhaps it’s too bad we got rid of all the dresses years ago when she moved into the nursing home – but most of them were from years ago when she was way different in size, and they wouldn’t have fit me.)
With temperatures in the range of 99 degrees Fahrenheit that day, I certainly was glad to be wearing a skirt! Makes me wonder why men don’t give up on pants in the hot weather! Skirts (and dresses, of course) are so much cooler!
First step after dropping Wifey off at the train, was to get my nails done. I’d previously tried painting what turned out to be rather sloppy French white tips on my nails, and painted the ring fingers red. It was nice, but the red was resistant to nail polish remover, so I hoped the tech would stay away from red. It was good that I was planning for a professional paint job.
I headed for the salon, which is in our town. Thus – no skirt! 😦 I wore white shorts and a feminine black medium length sleeve tunic, with my slide sandals, jewelry etc. I was not the only girl there, the place was busy. There was very little chatter this time…which was OK. Paint ‘em up and move ‘em out! But the tech asked if I had brought pictures of my dresses, which – surprise – I had on my camera! And she thought I made great choices!
The pedi came first – patching my cracked big toe nails with acrylic and then painting all ten of them in their usual white, which is fine. At my age, bending enough to do my own pedi (and a with lack of steadiness) are two good reasons to happily pay for the paint job. I thought the lady in the chair next to me was going to be talkative after a quick greeting. But she got on the phone and it didn’t happen.
To the meat of the issue:
Above are pix of my new white “paint job”. And it’s very professional. The tech is a fan of accent nails (to highlight our rings) so she decided to give me a new lightly-tinted-white base color, white nail tips with full white ring finger accent. She didn’t trim my nails – “so you don’t need for me to apply tips…and the accent color draws eyes to that lovely ring.”
,Then she encouraged me to let her do future fills with gel white tips and gorgeous red accent nails. “You’ll love the attention your diamond gets! And you won’t get the chipping you’ll see within a week using this regular color.” My response was a smile, and a coy “We’ll see…” But I don’t think it will happen!
With my nails now as feminine and pretty as my outfits, I went home to await the next adventure…and changed into one of my dresses!
While driving in Denton on the Delmarva, I came across a street with an unusual name: Pealiquor Road. I think that’s probably on a par with the previous “winner” of that “honor” (Toad Suck, Arkansas.) Never having heard the word previously, I whipped the car around and went back to grab a quick picture. My mind instantly went “into the gutter” with regard to a possible pronunciation! (Fortunately the area was very nice, with no indication of anything resembling such a phonetic meaning.) And for the next hour, possible explanations kept “bouncing around in my head.”
It only made sense that it “had” to be agricultural in nature. There are rivers, streams, and cultivated fields everywhere in the area. And after all, the first part “Pea” is a common vegetable grown locally. I researched on-line for a definition when I arrived home.
According to info from the Caroline County Historical Society, it apparently got its name from when the Phillips Packing Company rented land here where the separation of pea hulls from harvested peas were carried out by pea vinery machines. The vine and pea hull by-products were compressed and sold as forage to a nearby dairyman. The pea juice (or liquor) from this operation became so plentiful a drainage ditch was built for it. From then on, the landing was called Pealiquor. Footner reported a “little group of buildings” at Pealiquor Landing in the 1940s. The landing is designated on “Topographic Map of Caroline County” 1950, revised 1971.
So, there WAS a logical reason for the unusual name!
Seen during a recent trip north on the Delmarva, near the town of Massey, MD:
This sort of covers most types of messages, from traditional US Postal Service to modern electronics. Just not Fedex or UPS! But the best part: the owner of this humorous display recycled one of the old railroad telegraph poles, from “back in the day!” Always good to repurpose things whenever you can!
Mandy's Miscellany 