Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for April 07, 2017

Maybe they need to find a different place to park.

Only thing left is drag racing.

Knowing them, I’m sure they’ll cruise up and down the street with the radio playing. As soon as a song ends, they’ll fight to see who gets the nearest parking space.

How about opening car doors into each other? Or a fender scrape?

Ted and Arlene couldn’t decide what to play, so they drew lots.

Get a r—, err…, get a garage you guys.

If they only made one parking space then they could have fun vying for it.

A little bumper tag, if you know what I mean [nudge nudge, wink wink].

Ted and Arlene did a lot of parking, during their three year courtship.

It was a favorite activity, but not something they could really talk about with the friends who asked what they’d been up to…

So somehow, it became … well… a different sort of hobby.

A craft activity, to embellish the … um… the rest of it…. and explain the time they were spending.

They could show off the fenders they made… the fancier and fancier decorations…..

Till one day, they realised that the original purpose of the outdoor game was lost.

Now, please … don’t be sad, or think that means the engines have cooled……

The spark plugs are still firing….

But for 43 years of marriage, they’ve lived in a nice, comfy house, and they don’t have to take that part on the road.

BTW… what’s all this nonsense about the Tiki being closed last night??

The Tiki NEVER closes..

There is no key!

I was, indeed, out of town last night…. it couldn’t be helped.

But talked to Fenton… our night-time bartender.

You all know him, don’t you?

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A better bartender or a more reliable employee has never been known.

He was there; the lights were on…..

Sid, the gorilla bartender from the Ballard Hotel was there to help out in my absence…

Monkey!

You were sleeping on the fridge…..

You know your bar was open!

Why did you let them start those rumors about last night?

Tonight, of course, like every Tuesday and Thursday, Fenton is off….

and we have a dozen or so little monkey bartenders……

Not quite the mixologists …but the place is a lot of fun when they work, even if I do have to keep an eye on them.

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Meet the new neighbors……they are classic. Edsel and Hudson. At least they didn’t leave the turn signal on!

The Tiki was closed the night before last? Then how did I get so ….shall we say, “tired” ? I kept having this haluc….er, dream where I was hollering obscene (yet very flattering) platitudes about Arlene’s headlights. Ted was in it as well complaining. Something about needing to relieve himself but he couldn’t get his grill to open.Owwwww! My head hurts.

Well wada you know, they’re both frowning.

Ted’s hood ornament is the crowning touch!

Turns out “Parking Lot” is no paradise.

They could go indoors and practice their parallel parking ?

There are plenty of empty spaces in their lot…