April Fool's Day in May

Time to confess. Gossips was duped. Here's what happened.

I got an email from an anonymous reader--it happens all the time--saying there was a McDonald's banner in a shop near the St. Charles Hotel and asking, "What does this mean?"

Now I do have a sense of humor, and had I known that this space was Abel Ramirez's studio, the sense of humor might have kicked in, but twenty-one years of living in Hudson have taught me that, more than anything, our little city exemplifies Murphy's Law: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Could it be that someone was getting ready to establish a fast-food outpost in our beloved bastion of organic, sustainable, locally sourced slow food? Heaven forfend!

I emailed Craig Haigh, our refreshingly conscientious new code enforcement officer, to ask if he knew anything about what was happening in this space. I sent him the picture and asked, "Is this for real, or is someone pulling our leg?" He told me he'd check it out, and he did, reporting back that he'd visited the building and found no one there, but a neighbor told him the person who occupied the space "is an artist and hangs things in the window." End of story.

But no. Today I learn on Facebook that the artist in question is Abel Ramirez. Then, driving by on my way to ShopRite, I see the McDonald's banner gone and Dazy sitting out front. Had she been there before, this never would have happened. My face is red, and Craig Haigh may never again act on information received from Gossips. Alas.
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