Free Self Care Day in Warwick NY!

You go to the Albert Wisner Public Library. You browse the shelves a bit, but nothing really stands out to you. A 5000 piece puzzle sits on a massive table beside the library computers. Only about 100 pieces are assembled. You can’t tell what the picture is supposed to be. Self care for the win! Cat pic for you!

You decide to spend time at Stanley Deming park. The Wawayanda creek is sparkling. You remember the time you saw a baby copperhead flick its tongue at an apple core. There were toddlers playing upstream. You thought about calling out to the parents, but you didn’t see them anywhere. The copperhead blinked in the sun. You didn’t know snakes could blink. You’re starting to get that tension in your shoulders again. Maybe you should sit down. But there’s so much left to do. Self care for the win! Cat pic for you!

Next is dinner. This one would be tricky, if not for the Price Chopper that just opened up across from the ShopRite. You walk down the air-conditioned aisles and peruse the dozens of free samples. Your dinner consists of ham bites, hummus, and mango guacamole, which you decide you don’t like after the sample lady hands you the fifth dixie cup. You hear a low, creaking groan, like a tree in a storm before it snaps at the crook. Maybe dinner isn’t sitting well. No matter. Self care for the win! Cat pic for you!

Now for some entertainment. The Warwick Drive in is right behind the ShopRite, which is right across from the Price Chopper that provided your dinner. There’s a bit of forest, a bit of marsh, and a bit of field in between. You’ve already had a long day, full of free and restorative local activities. A movie would be perfect to cap it off. If you can just sneak in … Self care for the win! Cat pic for you!

You wait until it’s dark enough, until the screens flicker to life, until People are too engrossed in their children, minivans, or criminally overpriced hot dogs to notice a lone figure. The timing is perfect. You start walking, avoiding the stickiest parts of the marsh. What’s that on the ground? It looks like your wallet, but that’s … impossible. You shake your head. It can’t be yours, and besides, you’re close enough to see one of the screens through the trees. And yet … You bend down to pick it up, reaching for the distinctive shape. Something reaches back. And then it starts to pull. You fall just as the first movie lights up the screen. You scream for help, but you know it’s useless. No one can hear you over the soaring musical score of Cats (2019). Self care for the win! Cat pic for you!