Here's an unpleasant start to a Saturday morning. I had gone to Oak Bluffs to do my weekly This Week newspaper handout and I parked in one of the four-hour slots near the Steamship Authority. Some time between 9:30 -- when I arrived -- and 10:30 -- when I came back to the car after a delicious breakfast at Biscuits (more on this later) -- someone apparently skidded up against the rear bumper on the driver's side of my Prius, leaving scratches and a bit of chipped paint. No major damage or cracking, but it's definitely visible and I called AAA to file a claim. The agent was very understanding and, once I find a good body/paint shop on the island, I should be all set.
It's fascinating the effect this place has had on me. This is the kind of incident that would have absolutely launched me into a rage if it had happened in Michigan; I can easily picture myself flying into a full-blown fit over something like this. But I find I'm more perturbed/annoyed than infuriated, and I think it has a lot to do with the relaxed atmosphere and calm of the Vineyard. When I first saw the damage, I was definitely angry and started looking around for tell-tale signs on another vehicle, certain that the perpetrator was still in the vicinity. After a few minutes, however, I stopped searching, got out my AAA card and phoned in the claim. Then I walked down to the beach and listened to the soothing sounds of the sun-splashed waves. Getting angry over something like a few scratches is a waste of energy, especially since AAA kindly waived my deductible and even reminded me that I'm entitled to a $30-per-day credit toward renting a car if mine needs to be in the shop for any length of time.
Or maybe I was more easy-going because of the wonderful breakfast I had. Biscuits is a bustling Oak Bluffs restaurant that serves breakfast from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., and there's usually a waiting line out in front of the door. I ordered take-out, and got linguica hash and what Biscuits calls Pigs in a Blanket.
The Pigs in a Blanket I am familiar with are little sausage links wrapped in pancakes and doused with syrup; Biscuits' Pigs are sausage patties served inside split buttermilk biscuits and covered with a creamy sausage gravy. It was a surprise when I opened the container, but they were wonderful.
Linguica is everywhere on the Vineyard: It's a pork sausage created by the Portuguese that's often served inside rolls, hot dog-style. The linguica hash is a blend of shredded linguica, diced onions, potatoes and finely chopped red bell peppers that's been fried (apparently not for very long, since it was much less greasy than traditional hashes). When I first looked at its rather vivid red-orange color, I thought it was going to be much too spicy for this time of day. One forkful told me otherwise. Because of the potatoes, the pepper and onion did not set my tongue on fire, and I could still taste the hints of garlic and paprika in the linguica without being overwhelmed by them. The balance of flavors was perfect.
By the way, for those who are wondering about the cost of the groceries, the correct answer was C. That relatively meager amount of food (and detergent) cost $50.61 -- although I did get a 5-cent credit from Stop & Shop for bringing in a reusable bag. Every time I go to a grocery store around here, I want to kick myself for not buying food off-island and bringing it back over on the ferry. The prices here are generally laughable (at least until you have to go to the check-out counter, at which time they become a little less funny) and, I have noticed, they have gone up slightly since the start of what the locals call "the season." For example, Stop & Shop had a package of six crumpets -- little hand-sized pancakes -- for $1.99 a couple of weeks ago, so I bought some and spread cherry preserves on them: delicious. But when I checked the price on the same crumpets Thursday, they had jumped up to $2.49. Sorry, no sale.
The same is true of the detergent, which had been $7.29 when I last bought a bottle at the beginning of June. It's now up to $7.69 and, while I can have a breakfast without crumpets, washing clothes without detergent is a bit trickier. Perhaps there have been great production crises in the crumpet and detergent worlds that I have been blissfully unaware of and the manufacturers had no choice but to raise their prices in response. And yet somehow I suspect the puffed-up prices have more to do with a chance to make a little bit more off tourists who like British tea time snacks and laundry that smells like a Springtime Waterfall or a Country Breeze or whatever it is they're putting in detergent these days.
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