by request only

this is for Malesa

A few weeks ago some of you might remember that Bill and I walked in a breast cancer walk. Just like last year, it was a smashing success, much of that due to the incredible generosity of our co-workers. My office is rather small, so as a thank you I went to the local bakery and had them make pink ribbon sugar cookies. Not cheap but very tasty.

Bill's company is about 4 times (maybe more) the size of mine, so the cookies were not an option. Bill thought about Munchkins, but people like to complain about donuts (i.e. ugh this is going to make me soooo fat I can't believe you brought these in, but i guess I'll eat 3). So like a true pastry lover Bill's mind turned to pie. And it was just a little jaunt from pie to Bakers Square (where else can you get pies for under 9$?) So, he make up his mind and we hopped in the car (with the dog) around 10pm on a Thursday.

Bakers Square closes at 11, but that wouldn't matter, because it is only 3 block away... ...so we thought. We drive up to the building: lights are off, no cars no people. Hmm ,we think even if they closed at 10pm there should be lights on and servers still around. As we drive around the building I notice that the name have been pulled off. When did this happen!?! It was only in mid July that we had last enjoyed a pie from this store. We didn't remember hearing anything about Bakers Square going out of business or going into bankruptcy. And I had looked online to find store hours... wait, the store I looked up was on Ridge... this is Dixie. Could there be 2 pie places in our area?

As I use my cunning and wiles to ferret this information out of my blackberry, Bill turns the car around and heads north to ridge. I knew it had to be east of us so he head is that direction and I find a town and address. Hmmm I have heard of this Lancing before... it can't be too far.

So it is now about 10:15, remember they close at 11, and we are heading into uncharted territory. As we pass the last signs of familiar places, we drive past the cemetery that is across from the side entrance to Home Depot. We keep driving... there are no lights as the other side is forest and I guess street lights might not be wanted near a graveyard. Wow this graveyard stretches on for a while I think to myself, but whats that? More grave yard on the other side of the street? still no lights and no cars on the road. Bill is just trying to concentrate on diving and I am trying not to be a scardy cat.

We emerge out of the woods and it is now about 10:30 and we have a problem the road does a 90* turn and then dead ends into another road. How in the world is this on Ridge if we have just hit the end of Ridge?!? Bill keeps driving as we go past some type of factory. Then we come into more woods and a herd of very big deer some in the street and some on the side of the street. We turn down a residential street and Bill is ready to give up before we end up in Indiana. But I am now taking this very personal, so I grab my street map of northern Illinois and look up Lancing. Lo and behold, Ridge starts up again all we need to do is make a left at the next light and the make another left onto Ridge.

10:35, back on track, but still worried about the massive amount of deer we hear out with new enthusiasm. Win my great sense of navigation (yay maps!) we make our way to Bakers Square with 15 min to spare. Bill orders his 6 pies and we head home, now knowing our way we happily smile at the "deer forest" and distract ourselves as we go back past the unlit expanse of graves (still no cars on the road).

Back at home and am now angry that we didn't get a pie for ourselves and jokingly tell Bill we could head out again tomorrow night.

So, it is a long and probably not as interesting story as you thought, but when you were talking about the pretty graveyards all I could picture is this pitch black road with no signs of life driving afraid of deer jumping out at any moment and not know where we were going.

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore"