Events of an Assorted Nature

Life seems to be calming down just a touch. I've been afraid to say that for fear it will come back and bite me. College graduations in the valley finished and that makes my life happier. Not that anyone exceedingly close to me graduated, but now it's faster and easier to navigate the grocery store. We also have fewer demanding customers at the store I work at who want their alterations RIGHT NOW because they are "going home tomorrow morning, early." I usually don't take such fiendish delight in saying no, but when you have ten customers a day get huffy with you because they waited until the last second to buy stuff they've known they would need for the past month, it can be quite gratifying to say we'll ship their order. Granted, I've still been so chock full of work that I've been close to going insane. But anything I can do to put a smile on my face helps.

And now on to other things. I read or heard somewhere that, in order to prove your worth in battle, you must bloody your opponent and be bloodied in battle, yourself. I am now a worthy soldier. The battle is a game called Swap. It sounds innocent enough, but for the "Slap" cards in the deck. When such a card is thrown down, all other players must slap it. The last to slap it is penalized by taking a card from the hand of the person who played the card. Eric and I warned everyone to remove any rigs they might be wearing to reduce injury. We did not, however, think to warn against fingernails. My sister-in-law and I both slapped our hands down when we saw the card played, then drew them back again just as quickly. My middle finger went into my mouth and I was too concerned with that to see what Charlotte did with her hand. Our hands had collided so violently that my fingernail was bent back far enough to partially separate it from the skin and cause bleeding. Charlotte, on the other hand, had been clawed so forcefully that the wound drew blood. we both felt really bad. They difference was that I continued to slap cards when they came around again, though much more carefully. Charlotte just took the loss and avoided slapping anymore. I felt really bad.


My grandparents returned from their mission to Mexico this week. They are about a year early, but my grandpa was having health problems and the doctors there said he would probably need a pacemaker and then thyroid medication. After coming to the doctor here, it looks like it's just a thyroid problem. We like that much better than a pacemaker. It was good that they came home, though. I think they are needed here at home much more than where they were. The list of family tragedies that have struck over the past two months is mind-boggling and a lot of people need their strength.


Now my favorite story. This happened a couple of weeks ago. While I was busily working at my sewing machine, I was surprised to see a Cadillac limousine pull up to the store. Who was in it? Why were they coming to our store? Why on earth were they parking the limo on the side of University Parkway? I watched intently to see who would be coming out. It was Grandpa. Not my grandfather (who was still in Mexico at the time), but the grandfather of the owner of the store. I am one of the few workers who knows his real name (Paul), so I just refer to him as Grandpa like everyone else. That was a surprise. he stepped out of the driver's seat in his work clothes and went around to open the other door. I wondered who the passenger was. The last thing I expected was what happened. Rather than open the door for someone, he reached in to retrieve a large wrench. Then he went to the passenger side, opened the door, and pulled out an array of long, rusty bars. He had come to turn on the water and fix the sprinklers. The limo was his work vehicle of choice. I nearly choked on my water before I could get the laugh out. As it happens, Grandpa purchased the Caddy limo as a family vehicle for transporting lots of great-grandkids at the same time. It's actually a funeral limo for driving families of the deceased from one location to another. I guess it works for carting around sprinkler tools, too.