MARKET DAYS

Tuesday is market day in Bethesda. There is a woman there whom I think is a Mennonite. She has a lovely complexion and German facial features like Barbara's. Her gray hair is tied in a single braid behind her neck and she wears the characteristic Mennonite puffy-sleeved small-print dresses. Every Tuesday she comes from the town of Gardners, Pennsylvania. She sez it's in the 717 area code just north of Gettysburg. I feel funny trying to engage her in conversation and asking her if she is a Mennonite. Even if I ask clients whether they have contagious diseases. Her stand sells fruit and baked goods. The raspberries are gorgeous. There is an almost ethereal quality about her that I envy, especially as I walk from the market to deal with the assholes in the parking garage.