Thanksgiving Day Parade

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Billy and Scott.

Subject: Thanksgiving Day Parade

Billy enters Starbucks, walking over to Scott who is half-heartedly sweeping the lobby while chatting with one of his regular customers, Henry.

"Hey Scott, Henry, what's up?"

"Billy! How you doing? What train were you working on today?"

"The L Train. Next stop, 14th Street, Union Square! May you find plenty of union with pretty ladies upstairs!"

"Amen to that! Henry here was just telling me about his Thanksgiving plans. I think he's a bit insane though."

Henry: "I don't think attending the parade is insane. I am going with a lady friend though."

"You left that part out! A hot lady friend? Is this a date? You'll keep her out in the cold all day and then drop the 'Want to go back to my place and warm up?' line on her?"

"Oh! Sweet line. I don't have any plans for Thanksgiving yet. What are you doing Scott?"

"Wait, you haven't heard all of Henry's plans yet. He's not just spending all day Thursday at the parade, he's going to watch the balloons be blown up Wednesday night too."

"Watch them get blown up? People do that? I guess that could be neat, seems an awfully long time to spend with inflatable balloons though."

Henry: "I don't know if it's that crazy. We're going to go see the balloons, get some sleep, and then get up early to find a good spot. We'll load up on coffee and donuts to eat on line and see the parade. I've never seen it in person before, and it'll be over in time to get to my Uncle's for thanksgiving dinner."

"I'm sorry Scott, I have to agree with Henry. It's not that crazy, it sounds like a long day, but it could even be kind of romantic."

"You'll certainly work up an appetite standing around for hours. Is it supposed to be windy on Thanksgiving? I always love seeing the balloons get away."

Henry: "It's too early to tell."

"I hope so. Get lost Henry, I'm going to talk to Billy now."

Henry: "Roger. Seeya."

Henry departs, headed off down the block.

"So, you going home for Thanksgiving Scott?"

"Nah. I'll just mill around the apartment, watch football, eat nothing but pie."

"Yeah. Pie. That sounds good. Lots of pie. Think Tabitha or Ann will bake us some pies before they go wherever they're going?"

"Maybe. I think Frank might be staying here too. He's decided he doesn't want to put up with the job question this year."

"Don't blame him. Relatives always seem to think they know what is best for you."

"Who needs the girls anyway? We'll have a nice sports filled day, without any nagging or creamed turnips."

"I don't mind the turnips as much as the brussel sprouts."

Scott makes a gagging noise. "I'll pass on pretty much all the green stuff."

The Party From Hell

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann , Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Party from Hell

“So why do we have to go to this party?”

“Because they're new in the building and it can't hurt to welcome them in and make new friends can it? Isn't that how we met Sue and Amy when we moved in?”

“Amy and Sue are hot though.”

“What are their names?”

“Jack and Cinthia. The party's at John's, on the 7^th floor, who you should know.”

“John's the guy with the daughter who sells girl scout cookies right?”

“'Figures that's what you remember about him. Thin mints.”

“I think my stomach has a better memory than my brain sometimes.”

“We're here. Hi John!”

John: “Hi guys! Come on in!”

“Hello. So you have any thin mints hiding anywhere?”

John: “Nope, sorry Billy.”

“Lets say hello to Jack and Cinthia and then find a corner to hang out in.”

“Sounds good.”

So we do just that, and find ourselves a spot near the window out of the way.

“I'll go get us some drinks, come help me carry Tabitha.”

“So Jack seems nice. What was it he said he did?”

“Something about trade..or commerce. Shipping? I don't know. Frank?”

“What? Oh..I wasn't listening, sorry.”

“Whatever it was, it was boring.”

“We've got a dire situation, we have to go.”

“Go? What's the matter?”

“Nothing, he's just upset because they have no alcohol.”

“No booze?! Lets go.”

“We can't go, we just got here. You'll live without a drink.”

“Drinks are the only way I can get through party's like this. There is nothing more boring than a party with casual acquaintances.”

“Look, lets get some soda, wander around and talk to everyone, and then we can politely leave, with everyone having remembered talking to us.”

“Fine. We already talked to Jack and Cinthia, so let's talk to the others.” Billy looks over to the rest of the people. “Mike! Come here!”

Mike: “Hi guys, what's up? Nice to see you.”

“So how are you Mike? What are you up to lately? How's work? Good? Great. We're all fine, normal stuff. Tabitha did great on her finals, is thinking about waitressing for the summer for some money. Isn't that wonderful? Okay, you can go now, nice talking to you Mike.”

Mike: “Uhhh..umm..I..Terrific! Nice seeing you!”

Mike walks away confused.

“That doesn't count! Be nice!”

“Do we even like these people?”

“About as much as fruit salad.”

“Fruit Salad?”

“Not a bad dessert, but not quite what you're looking for.”

Sara groans and flicks Scott's ear. “That wasn't funny.”

“Come on, lets go get some soda and talk to some people. We can worry about leaving later.”

“Oh fine, lets go.”

Brett: “Hey 6^th Floorers, how's life treating you down there?”

“A hell of a lot better then being on the 14^th floor. I can't imagine having to wait for the elevator all the time to get up that high.”

Brett: “The view from my bedroom is so worth it!”

“Not as good as the view in Ann's bedroom I bet.” Scott says with a wink.

Ann punches Scott. “You've never seen the view, so how would you know?”

Henry: “Ann! Good to see you! You written anything lately?”

“I've been writing in our blog, but other than that nothing since we were helping each other out last year.”

Henry: “Yeah, why did we stop doing that anyway? I've been too busy to get much writing done since then either.”

“We stopped because Carol got jealous that you'd meet me once a week.”

Henry: “Oh. Right.”

“Where did Scott go?”

“He was right here a second ago.”

“He better not have left!”

“I'll go check the hall for him.”

“Aha, no! You stay right here. No sneaking out.”

“But it's so boring! And the soda's not even name brand!”

“Oh woe is you. You have to drink a White Rock cola instead of a Coke. The world's going to come to an end.”

“How do you know it won't?”

“I'm a college student remember? I know everything.”

“Come on, lets go talk to Jack and Cinthia some more, make them feel welcome.”

“Ugh, could there be more boring people on the face of the earth?”

Cinthia: “Who's boring?”

“These two guys I work with. They drone on and on about nothing. It's a pain to have to work with them.”

Cinthia: “I understand, everyone can't be as exciting as me!”

“Yeah, I guess I should just be thankful that everyone is not as boring as them.”

As Cinthia walks away, Tabitha whispers to Billy. “Nice save there.”

“Wouldn't want them hating us right off the bat. We should give them at least a month for that.”

“Maybe even two months.”

We mingled for a little while longer, and then slipped out as some other people arrived. Scott was already asleep on the couch watching television when we got back downstairs.