who, what, where, when, why…..
On our way back from the 4th of July weekend in Saratoga, my sister-in-law, Ana, and I found ourselves in bumper to bumper traffic on the Thruway, the sun beating down on us. We had to make the decision, stay on, or get off. Route 9 and all its concrete tributaries, winds through the Hudson Valley through some of the most picturesque towns in the state. So when the exit ramp for 9W appeared, we hopped off the Thruway in favor of the road less traveled.
Just as we were beginning to feel the pangs of hunger, we came upon another perfect Hudson Valley village, the town of Saugerties. We decided to pull over for a late lunch. We parked and wandered the main street, peeking in windows and deciding what to eat. We popped into in a vintage clothing store called Pistol Whip and struck up a conversation with its owner, a vivacious fashionista named Sara. She told us about her boyfriend Daniel, a budding photojournalist and a little about her 30-odd years in Saugerties.
We were pleasantly interrupted by a little girl named Ella who marched in wearing jean shorts and vintage pumps – she announced that she and her friend Thomas planned to swap clothes and genders for the day. Hmmmm – ok then – good to know. I heard Rod Serling’s voice echo in my head, “Picture this….a small NY town where all seems normal but nothing is as it seems…..”.
We wandered off after purchasing some vintage Ray Bans and lo and behold, there were Ella and Thomas not only gender-swapping, but Thomas was in a full victorian dress complete with wide brim hat and dainty heels. It was quite spectacular. Ella had chosen to be a somewhat demure young man, opting simply for tomboy clothes and a striped wool cap.
They disappeared and reappeared at regular intervals as we wandered the town and settled in at Pig Bar and Grill, which was inexplicably missing the glass in one of the front doors. We sidled up to the bar and a cute redhead, Nina, rather tentatively asked what we would like. She seemed quite unsure whether the kitchen was open or if they had Prosecco or in fact what Prosecco might actually be. She then clued us in that this was her first day and the owner just left and the cook was quite cranky and she would ask but she doubted he would make us anything. Off she went behind the swinging door, returning moments later with a heavyset, utterly jovial chap named Billy. Billy seemed to be completely un-cranky, it being only 4:00 in the afternoon and we being the only customers. He insisted we try his Cajun Haricot Vert, and though he warned us they were so spicy we will cry, we agreed lest his mood take a sudden turn for the worse.
In the meantime, I let Nina in on the secret of Prosecco which of course they did not have, so we settled for a glass of champagne instead. Nina let us know she just moved back home after college to figure out what she wanted to do. She was charmingly disarming and impossible not to like. We chattered away until the fiery string beans arrived which frankly were the best damn green beans I have ever had. Nina offhandedly let us know that The Pig can get quite raucous at night and that last night, after the fireworks, the place got rowdy and someone threw a chair through the window. Just another day in Saugerties.
We finished up, paid our bill and said our goodbyes. We hopped in the car and just as I wondered where the dynamic cross-dressing duo disappeared to, I spot Ella about half a block up. She is back in Ella-gear, but still in the black pumps as she teeters across the street. At the same moment, I notice Thomas in my rear view, still clad in full Victorian garb, running and skipping cheerily down the street as any sweet 8-year old temporary transvestite might do.
Rod Serling’s voice faded away into the background as I pulled away from Sweet Surreal Saugerties….”anything can happen in The Twilight Zone”.