SHAMELESS

Yes I am shameless and quite frankly, I am a bit proud of it.

Lately my trees and vines have climbed my power pole till they completely surrounded my outdoor security light that I pay for on my light bill.  Outside of a nice glow among the trees, I got no benefit at all from the light. This is the second time this has happened.

I called the power company and they promised to send someone out that day to trim the branches so I thought I'd get in some lawn mowing while I waited.
I just finished mowing and was walking to the house when a power company bucket truck with two nice young men  pulled up to the gate.

The head guy sadly said that they could only cut the branches down and pile them up.  I would have to dispose of them.  I said,"OK," thinking this would not be too difficult.  Then they went to work.

The pile kept getting higher.

The branches kept getting bigger. 

That is when I shamelessly played the age card. I said nothing but took quick action.

When I mow on the rider, I wear a huge brimmed sombrero, two cooling neck scarves, and am lathered in white zinc oxide for sun block that looks a lot like clown make up. I am pretty sure my disguise made my age a mystery.

Recently I have been nursing a bum shoulder that makes shifting gears in my car and even pulling up my underwear an uncomfortable, painful experience. Realizing I probably could not handle this huge pile, I was getting worried.   Pretty sure those limbs weighed more than my underwear. Steps had to be taken.

I eased into the house, removed the hat and scarves, quickly washed off the grease paint exposing my wrinkles and fluffed up my white hair. Did I limp a bit when I went back out?? Well I do have a bad back and hip. It is hard to show that a shoulder is hurting so I MAY have exaggerated my normal limp a wee bit to make the point that I was a beat up old lady.

I limped up to the head guy for a casual chat.  He looked at me closely for the first time. We chatted a bit, then he went to his truck and talked quietly on the radio.

He came back with a big smile and said he had arranged for the wood chipper truck to stop by in the next few days to remove the debris.  Ah, what a sweet man.

I thanked him profusely saying that I really didn't know how I would have managed that pile---and that was the truth.  I was enormously relieved and he got to spend the rest of the day rightfully feeling good about himself.  Win/win.

When I was younger, I would have gone in, fixed my hair, made sure my deodorant was still working, added makeup, put on some short shorts with a flattering blouse and hope for the same results. Now days, white hair, wrinkles and a bit of a limp works just fine. This isn't new shameless behavior, just different.

Have you ever deliberately played the age card or exaggerated an ache or pain to get extra service?