Welcome to a Series of Increasingly Ridiculous Events

I have had a wild week and a half. It didn’t start well, then became overwhelming, and has ended on an upswing. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

I’d say that everything started to go down hill on the last Friday in February, but I think the grey clouds really started gathering on Thursday…maybe Wednesday. Basically, I left my laptop at the office Wednesday night, didn’t realize it until I was about to start work at home Thursday morning, and had to work extra late. On Friday, I noticed something hanging from the bottom of my car. The car still ran okay, but I had a sinking gut feeling that this was it. My almost 13 year old Ford Focus was done being a part of my life.

Yes, I cried. She was my first car that I owned. She came with me through five moves, three states, several major life events, and I put a lot of money in her to keep her alive.

Then I checked my mail box and I found a letter summoning me for jury duty on my day off. 

While going through all of this, I was trying to hire landscapers to fix a falling retaining wall on the side of my house.

Oh, and the United States bombed Iran. 

Great. Perfect. Just what we need.

I decided to start my car shopping on Sunday. In less than a week, I did a bunch of research, found a few car options through a car buying service I have access to, and got pre-approved for a loan. 

While that was going on, I got my poor old Focus looked at, fixed (for the most part), and locked myself out of my house. 

When I went to pick up my car from the shop, the check engine light popped on. Not the death red one, but the soft “this needs attention soon” yellow light. I asked the shop if it was because I opted to not buy the new battery (since I’d decided to buy a new car and all) with the tariff surcharge. They said no, took my keys (all of my keys), and (after half an hour) gave me the option to leave it overnight. As soon as I stepped out of the Lyft, I realized the shop never gave me back my house keys.

Panic sets in. The shop was technically closed, but I had overheard that they tend to stay a little after official closing hours. I raced back in an Uber, while also having a locksmith on standby. I actually hadn’t thought to call a locksmith until after calling my friends in that blind panic and one of them mentioned that that was an option.

The Uber driver was great. The poor guy from Afghanistan had just lost his job to layoffs and was dealing with my panicking self like a champ. He reminded me how to add a second stop to my trip so I wouldn’t be stranded at the car shop after getting there (my phone was at 9% and dying fast).

This is where my luck started to shift. 

The shop had been closed roughly 45 minutes, but there was still one lone mechanic there. He was just switching off the office lights when I ran up to the window like a hunted rabbit, jumping and waving to get his attention. He carefully approached the front door, not sure if the crazy person outside wasn’t dangerous, and I yelled that they had my house keys.

As soon as I said that I owned the Focus, he knew who I was and gave me my keys. The Uber driver took me home and I spent the rest of the evening thanking the multiverse for my stupid luck.

The work week was otherwise uneventful, minus a bunch of dealerships texting, emailing, and calling me to set up appointments. I finally found a pre-owned car that I’d be happy with. It was a 2026 with less than 1000 miles on it. It wasn’t exact color I wanted, but it wasn’t one I couldn’t live with. I made an appointment to see that exact car on Friday.

Though my luck was starting to turn, some of my friends weren’t having that same experience. One friend was stuck in the Middle East trying to get to their parent’s funeral. The same region that was currently breaking out into violence. Americans were being told to shelter in place or find someway to evacuate. The death toll was rising. 

My friend is okay, but they didn’t make it to the funeral. I’m just so glad that they are okay.

Friday rolls around, I go to the dealership, no car. It was a service rental and they had rented it out. This dealership tried to up sell me on a new car of the same model, but I wasn’t in the mood. Even after they offered me a nice price for the Focus, I said I wouldn’t make any choices unless I saw the car I made the appointment for. 

I waited all Saturday morning, but no progress on the car I’d hoped to buy. So I went back to my car buying service and found a different car in the color I wanted at the original dealership I had done my test driving. It was also a service rental car with a few more miles, but a fair bit cheaper.  

That was the car I ended up buying. The dealership that I had gone to on Friday eventually did get back to me with the car I originally wanted to see, but it was too late at that point. I had a much better deal with this other car and even managed to swing free oil changes at the brand for as long as I owned the car. They even gave me a lower APR than I thought was possible.

I still cried about selling my old car. An emotional release that was sorely needed.

Now, I’m nervous that another catastrophe is around the corner. Yes, I had a tough week, but it all weirdly turned out okay. 

But we’re still in this tense limbo of whether or not the United States is at war with Iran. Prices are rising like crazy. My friend was stuck in the UAE while Iran retaliated against US allies and angry protests were breaking out. ICE was spotted in the town I grew up in, not too far from where I live now.

Why am I still anxious? 

Before each event I just faced, I was able to prepare. I don’t feel prepared anymore.

If you enjoyed this post, please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Sleepy Hollow

 Not too far north of New York City, along the Hudson River, lies Tarrytown. It was while American writer Washington Irving was visiting an inn in Tarrytown, that he first heard the folk lore of the region - which included a certain headless horseman. Not long after Irving would publish the famous short story "Sleepy Hollow". 

The Sleepy Hollow town in New York today actually got its name about 30 years ago when the town of Tarrytown expanded to include the the area known as Slapershaven in the earliest years of Dutch colonialism in America. This name literally translates to "Sleeper's Haven" (according the village history page). 

When I lived in New Jersey, I lived about a half an hour from Sleepy Hollow, New York and spent some time enjoying the small town. It really takes it's legacy as the home Bram Bones, Katrina van Tassel, Ichabod Crain, and the Headless Horseman seriously. My personal favorite event was the annual pumpkin festival that included hundreds, if not thousands, of carved pumpkins lit up in festive displays. 

What Sleepy Hollow is not, is anything like the 1999 Tim Burton movie. 

Instead of a dark rural area with a forest to the west. Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are bright urban areas with a giant river to the west. It's also really close to Manhattan Island - even on the commuter trainline. It might have taken the average New Yorker in the 1790s half a day to get to.

Also, that movie is a terrible adaptation of the original short story.

The original "Sleepy Hollow" story is considered an American classic. However, the legends of headless horseman go back to Europe such as the Irish dullahan - which is actually an evil fairy. Irving may have been influenced by the folklore of his Scottish family (which also have headless horseman legends) along with stories about the Revolutionary War and other folklorists that were his contemporary.

The interesting thing about the story of "Sleepy Hollow" is that Ichabod isn't really a hero - his more of our modern day "nice guy". In fact, Irving doesn't seems to even like his main character - often portraying his motivations and actions as being less than honorable. The object of his affection, Katrina van Tassel, is just that - an object. Whereas Ichabod's rival, Brom Bones, actually seems to care about the person Katrina is. Ichabod is more interested in Katrina's beauty and her father's property.

In fact, it's heavily suggested that the headless horseman ghost of the story is less of a ghost and is instead Brom Bones playing another prank on Ichabod (he does several throughout the story). Ichabod is well known for being superstitious, despite his claims that his education makes him superior to the "simple" people of the rural town. Ichabod believes that he brings culture to the sleepy little village...with some success with the ladies, while really annoying everyone else.

The Disney version (which can be viewed on Disney+ with Mr. Toad) comes the closest in the adaptations I've seen to getting the spirit of the story across. It's also got some great musical numbers. However, the Wishbone episode "The Legend of Creepy Collars" is probably the best direct adaptation of the story I've seen.

This weekend, my sibling and I went to a ballet adaptation of "Sleepy Hollow" at one of my local theater productions. It was a lot of fun - though I don't remember any witches in the original story. There were plenty of beats from the original story along with a few additions that were clearly influenced by the 1999 Tim Burton film - like a tree with skulls on it. 

The ballet was about an hour and half long with beautiful dancing. The ending of the story was also slightly changed to make the headless horseman real rather than a prank by Brom Bones and Katrina feel bad about Ichabod's prank - honestly I was a little confused by this choice. Otherwise, I enjoyed the performances (especially when the little kids came on stage).

"Sleepy Hollow" is a fun story that is often misinterpreted and has some language that raises eyebrows in the modern day (specifically around Native Americans and Black people). I'd love to see a reinterpretation or adaptation that centers around Katrina and Brom's relationship rather than Ichabod's creepy obsession with Katrina. 

If you have an adaptation of "Sleep Hollow" you enjoy or have been to the town of Sleepy Hollow, let me know in the comments. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.