connecting in Connecticut

My pal Cathy Rion invited me to her house for Thanksgiving (I prefer 'thanks-taking', since that's a bit more historically accurate). It was lovely, three days of sleeping in, except for that last one where I got three hours of sleep because of the 6am flight and the lots of political conversation that needed to be had. Like, until one am. Yipes.

I felt bad because in the intervening time, Elly's family wound up with an extra space in their minivan, bound for her Grandma's house in South Carolina. But my parents taught me what Ms. Manners has taught so many before me - you go with the first person to whome you made a commitment.

One of my favorite debates was one where Cathy asked her parents if they knew where any gay bars in Hartford were located. Somehow Cathy's mom was convinced that gay folks abound, in virtually every popular Hartford nightspot. Her dad vehemently (but good-naturedly) disagreed - sort of a 'just because gay people go there doesn't make it a gay bar' sort of defense. Upon inspection, neither Cathy nor I found the gay people. OK, a few here and there, but not hanging out at a bar.

Another incongruous West Hartford moment: I have a tendancy to Google (yes, it's a verb now) the name of the town I'm in plus "vegan" and "food". This leads Cathy and I on an adventure one afternoon to a café that radiates tie-dye before we've even made it in the door. Is it because I'm from California that I find these places? Or are there secret networks of New England hippies just waiting to be found?

It was only the second place I've been in my life where I ordered a tofu sandwich and the tofu came RAW. The other place was Boonville, California, and that was at least salted and had avocado as its companion. At I looked at my West Hartford raw-tofu-and-sprouts-on-a-whole-wheat-tortilla, I realized that it was this very kind of item that made all my non-veggie friends whinge at the mere mention of my beloved soy staple. *Sigh*. But everything else we got there was quite tasty. I remarked to Cathy that I was glad it was me who had the sandwich and not someone without the practice of ten years of veganity. She agreed.