At work my screensaver is a slideshow of pictures that I've taken. Today one of my coworkers noticed this shot and asked if it was the Bay Bridge in the background.
"No, it's Route 90," I said.
She asked where the picture was taken. I said "Behind the Convention Center." She looked blank. "It's Ocean City," I clarified. "The bridge is the one up at 63rd Street, not down at the Inlet."
"What body of water?" she wanted to know.
"I think it's the Isle of Wight at that point," I said. "Or Assawoman. I've never been clear on why the bay has different names."
The more I explained, the more confused she got, until we realized that the basic misunderstanding was that she thought that Ocean City was just east of the Chesapeake Bay. She had no idea that it was a barrier island, and didn't realize how much land (and water) there was between us and the Atlantic Ocean.
I forget that not everyone who lives here spends a week in Ocean City every summer.
Then she asked me a question about the zoo, and I told her that I hadn't been to the zoo since Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were young.
She forgets that just because I've always lived here doesn't mean I know anything about this town.
Posted by Nic at March 15, 2006 08:45 PM | TrackBack