DID I HALLUCINATE ?

 Most of us have published posts about memory problems that accompany aging.  The good thing about blogging is that your realize that you are seldom alone. As our filing systems become overloaded with new information, it is common for some of the old info to get misfiled.  That is my excuse anyway.

But I had a new symptom recently hit.  In my last post I mentioned how delighted I was with the light snow we had gotten over night. Being a Florida girl, these sights thrill me. Being kind of south, we rarely get more than two inches.   I can't imagine what the poor folks who live around the great lakes are getting. That is beyond brutal. 

Anyway a few nights ago, I looked out just before bed and was thrilled to see just about the same amount of snow we had the other day coming down.   I went to bed smiling and couldn't wait to see what  was on the ground in the morning.

Shockingly though, in the morning the ground was totally bare. There wasn't a trace of snow anywhere. What happened??  Did I dream it?? Or horrors, did I hallucinate it??  I mean a slight memory slip up is one thing but imagining a ground covered in snow was another. 

I checked the news and the Internet but found nothing. This was shaking me up but salvation was just a phone call away.  My neighbor called after breakfast and wanted to know if I had enjoyed the snow.  It seems her husband had also noticed it before bedtime but I guess it was just too warm to stick even a little bit overnight. 

Phew, I hadn't gone round the bend---yet.

Ever had a scare about your memory only to find out all is well??

Of course that I almost forgot to write this post shows I am not completely well:)

UPDATE AND CAT FACT

Published date wrong. Should be March 7th.

The good news is that I no longer have a dog at my gate as I reported in my last post.  What happened, I don't know but it has been a week. I just hope it was a good and happy solution for the dog.

Now for a strange cat fact.  Several months ago I was on the phone with a friend when I complained that I think after about 80 years, I was developing an allergy to cats.  Every time Minnie got near me, I would sneeze and my nose would run off my face.  It was not seasonal allergy time so I hung it on Minnie. This was totally new to me. 

I had to take her to the vet when her appetite fell off and he took care of some dental problems. That did the trick and her appetite came right back.  What I didn't notice was that my allergy to her vanished at the same time.  Sometimes when we feel good we don't question it but just enjoy. 

Then a week or so ago, I became allergic to Minnie again.  She was off her feed again so it was vet time once more.  He diagnosed her with kidney problems which are sadly common in such an old cat (she is at least 18). This was not good news but I knew I would do what I could to prolong her life but only if she didn't suffer.

I was able to find a food she liked that was kidney positive and the medicine the vet gave her seemed to bring back her old self. However as she got better, I  noticed I got better with the allergies.  Doing a little  Google searching, it seems that when cats don't feel well, they produce more dander (dead skin) which can cause allergic reactions in humans.  Evidently I have no allergies if she feels fine.

Now I will be able to tell when she is not feeling well when I don't feel good. I will be her health gauge.  

Moral of story is if you suddenly become allergic to your cat, get her checked out. She probably doesn't feel good. 

Hope you are all surviving the daily barrage of the horrors going on in Ukraine. Sadly in this information age, we get to witness and feel each blow.  Perhaps it is best to be seeing it all in real time. With the events being so vivid, there is no chance of being mislead. This is real and terrifying. 

To satisfy my need to help, I am giving to UNICEF. If you know of a better charity, let me know. I want to be able to help and not all charities are the same. 

CLOSED CAPTION PHONE

Well first it was my computer, then my TV got the crud.  Wednesday, I suddenly lost all my local channels.  The 80 other channels that I rarely watch worked fine--it was only the locals.  No local news, no network shows and no local weather, just a black screen. Phooey.

Dreading what was probably in store, I called Directv. Sure enough I was connected with Sally, which was probably short for something else.  I recognized the Asian accent right away.  I have not the first problem with workers from India unless they are trying to help me solve a technical problem. Their English is perfect, I just can't understand the accent, especially when tackling unfamiliar terms and procedures. 

Truthfully I have trouble with almost any accent. Even British movies sometimes make me wish for subtitles and that is our mother language. While I may not understand every word spoken with an accent, I do admit that a British accent sounds intelligent, an Asian one sounds kindly and a French one just sounds sexy.

Like my being 5'1", 81 years old, and white haired, there are some things that just are.  My being accent illiterate is one of those that just is. Could be a gene.    

Now my hearing is fine. I'm comfortable with my phone being on one bar for volume and my TV volume is on 17 which are all pretty normal.  Often my company usually ask me to turn up the TV.

So as I am meekly asking poor Sally to keep repeating her instructions, it dawned on me. Why can't we have closed captioning on our phones?  Actually it turns out we can and if you are hearing impaired, it is free. 

Well that eliminates me for now. Besides I only need it when talking to India. 

I sometimes wonder if the representatives have closed captioning phones to understand us. Surely it can't be easy for them with all our different American accents.  

BTW, my TV healed itself the day before before the scheduled repair.  So I had to cancel the repairman Sally was sending to my house.  That was as much of a struggle as the first call. Got Mary that time and it was just as hard to understand her but we got the order cancelled. Sigh.                 

I think the problem with the local channels was on their end and they quietly repaired it. Absolutely nothing was done on my end. Directv is owned by ATT so possibly that bombing in Tennessee had some effect?                                                                                                                                                                                        Do you have communication problems with the help centers located outside of the US? 

DUH

I like a comfy toilet seat so I have always bought the padded ones. They don't last forever but are cheap and easy to change out.  Then when I was having back problems, I added a riser to the mix.  Wow, why aren't all toilet seats four inches higher??  I got so accustom to the extra height that when using a public toilet, I always felt I was crashing to the floor.

My padded seat got a tear that liked to pinch my bum so I thought, easy fix and bought a new one.  What I didn't realize is that when I put the riser on, they had supplied much longer "metal bolts" to attach the riser and seat together.
Lord a mercy were they rusted.

Ok, off to Google I went who suggested a penetrating oil and patience. Well I tried both and still no budging.  Let me tell you, penetrating oil has a NASTY smell. My whole house reeked like a car's exhaust. I had to open the windows, put a fan in the room and shut the door with a towel underneath to block the fumes. I have compromised lungs and feared the toxicity of the fumes. That bathroom was useless to me but thankfully I had a backup bathroom.

I tried calling in the pros.  I called two plumbers and a handy man leaving messages. Not too smart as I left my problem along with my phone number on their answering machines.  This must be a horror show repair for those fellows as not one called me back.  If I needed a new toilet, I'd have had better responses. Rusty bolts?? Nothing. Not worth the trip. Can't say I blame them.

The Internet said I might be able to use a drill to attack the rusted nut but that kind of intimidated me. I would have to lay on my back and use a power tool which doesn't excite me like it does you guys.

Then I thought of pasting a decal over the tear. I thought a few funky flowers might be attractive while mending the tear. That Google search didn't give me much confidence. Too many bad reviews on the decals.

Then in exasperation I discovered my "duh" moment. I looked at the replacement seat I had bought carefully. Ah ha, It was the exact same as the one I was replacing.

What were those tiny screws?? Four screws attached each section to the hinge.  I wondered if I just unscrewed them and swapped out the old seat for the new one as the  hinge on the old one was fine?  YES. It worked like a charm. So simple.

I still have the rusty bolts that need to eventually be removed in case I ever need to replace the riser but now I have all the time I need to find someone desperate enough for work to tackle it. Maybe I'll wait till I have a big problem and use the rusty bolts as an add on job.  The replacement plastic bolts I bought can wait.

Those of you who have a live in handy man or a willing relative on speed dial, give them a hug today and let them know you appreciate them. They are priceless.

AUTO-CORRECT

I just recently experienced something I am sure most of you have all ready. But since I have no cell service here and don't have a smart phone some of the problems or pleasures are not on my radar.

Since my friends and family do have the magic gadgets, I do sometimes get emails from them via their phones. So far there have been no complications.

Then last week I got a message from a friend who is traveling in her RV that had me shaking my head, worried and confused.

The message stated that she was traveling with a friend and they had gone to Myrtle Beach.  Then the message got weird. She stated bluntly that her friend had her own morphine.  Huh???

Morphine?? My friend rarely even drinks. I pondered that message for a full day. I had no idea how to answer.

I thought of a worldly response to show I was cool.
"How nice that she has her own supply."
Or perhaps helpful.
"Is she at least in a 12 step program?"
Worried for about safety.
"You don't let her drive do you?"
Or just concerned.
"Is she in cancer treatment? I thought only medical professionals could administer that."

Well I was still trying to find a tactful way to answer the message when I got another one.

"I meant to say she has her own "motor home" but it didn't come out that way."

Then I knew we were victims of the devious autocorrect. Now I'll know when I get a weird message I don't understand not to sweat it but just return it with a "HUH?????"

Has your phone ever turned on you and misinterpreted what you meant to say?

IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

No I don't mean the political situation though there is a jungle argument for that. Nor do I mean the lack of civility and common sense among those who are on edge and ready for battle at the first glimpse of an offense.

Instead I am talking about a service man who went above and beyond for me recently and kept a smile on his face. Too often these guys get bad press. So this is my tale about one of the good guys.

Recently it appears I had phone problems. I could make outgoing calls on my landline with no problem so I had no idea my phone was sick. When my sister tried to call me and the call immediately got cut off before it even rang, she was kind enough to email me. Otherwise I would just wonder what happened to my friends and family and would have enjoyed the lack of spam and robo calls.

I checked Google and it had happened to others so I tried all the Google remedies. Nothing worked. Since I don't have a cell signal here, I had to drive 4 miles up the road to call myself after each attempt.  Nothing was working.

So I emailed my phone company--it was a Saturday---and thought I would have to wait till Monday for help.

Soon my phone made the tiniest beep which it did when a call tried to come in. The lost call number was of my phone company. That happened twice so I knew someone was at least thinking about helping me.

It was mid after noon when Callie let me know someone was outside. It was the tech who was testing my phone on the outside box.  Then he looked at my power pole,

Ah, yes I have let it get a bit overgrown. I guess somewhere on that pole was a box he had to access. He walked round and round then finally just plunged into the jungle.  It was 94 degrees and I felt like I ought to at least offer him a machete.

He just disappeared into the foliage and  I could only see the  bushes move as he fought forward. Then nothing. I was beginning to think of sending my rescue dog in after him when my phone rang. He had fixed it.

The bushes moved a lot and he finally burst free, soaked in sweat and decorated with small leaves and spider webs.  I waited for him to fuss at me for letting the brush get so out of hand. Instead he just grinned and said,"Where is Mike Rowe when you need him?"

I laughed also for Mike Rowe is the guy on the TV show, Dirtiest Jobs.

He then took the time to explain to me what he had done.

Seems lightening from a recent bad storm had blown out a capacitor and he replaced it. Simple fix if it wasn't for the miserable access.

All was well again. I had been ready to play the old lady card but it wasn't necessary.

He did the job with out a gripe but I am betting if he was a praying man, he was praying that no more lightening storms hit my area, at least not while he is on duty.

I need to find someone to tackle that mess. It is so beyond me with my bum shoulder and bionic ticker.  Some of the vines are leaning eagerly towards my house.  Pretty sure there is some Kudzu in there. Scary.

Ever have an area on your property get really over grown or run down and not realize it till some stranger has to access it and you finally see it for what it is? Kind of embarrassing.

FOOTPRINTS

 Aww, my company has left but she left a rather large footprint.  My friend from the second grade came and went but not without leaving an impression.

The non physical footprint was in the form of reconnecting with my friend from the second grade. We have enjoyed a long distance friendship for 70 years.

As all of you have stated, it is always so amazing that when you reconnect with a long time friend after several years. Time melts away and you are right where you were as if it were yesterday.

We were a little bit handicapped by the series of over 100 plus degree "feels like days". Mercy!!! The crazy heat made us seek mostly indoor venues with only an outdoor Hootenanny, mostly in the shade, being bearable in the heat.

Thankfully heat doesn't handicap conversation. Talking rarely works up much of a sweat unless you have polar opposite political views which luckily we didn't or at least kept to ourselves.

Sis--as I have always called her--is far healthier than I and did some of those chores that I have been unable to do. I do work my guests without a trace of
guilt.

She may be more fit than I am but I have faked her into thinking I am tech savvy. I got really tickled as I connected her to ATT on my computer to facilitate an upgrade for her cell phone.

We were in a chat with the technician who typed the phrase -- 'you will enjoy an upgrade of either 3G or 4G. :D.'  Sis wanted to know what 4 G D was. I grinned as I  told her the tech was just being cute and the :D was just a smiley face at the end, not a generation designation. Pretty sure when she gets her smart phone she will leave me in the dust tech wise. I enjoyed my moment.

The beauty of having Sis stay here is that she is an RV'er.  I love company that brings their own house with them.

I always set my RV visitors (my brother it the other one) up in my front yard but when they leave, a grass Mohawk is left behind where the camper blocked the lawnmower.

The RV's physical footprint in driveway.

Highest point--13 inches

Wow, I am reduced to posting pictures of grass. Pretty sure it is time to finish this post and hit publish.

Since  I am back to normal blogging and routine, I will be haunting your posts once more.  Hopefully my former blogger problems have magically been corrected. Point of reference, I am posting this at 6:05 CST. Have no idea if it will make your reading lists or when.

I've missed you.

MY VISIT TO INDIA

Before I take you to India, I just want to say that I love Daylight Savings Time. Finally I get to enjoy an adult bed time.

Prior to the springing forward, I went to bed usually around 8:30 and then read for about an hour. Pretty much the bed time of an 8 year old.  Now the clock at least says 9:30 and I still read for an hour so I have joined the adult portion of the world. Ok--I am still an early bedder but at least now it is more respectable.

When people ask me now when I go to sleep, I can proudly say, 10:30. I'm good for 6 months now feeling like a grownup. Love DST.

How are you coping with DST. I know some people loathe it.

Off to India.  This week I got an alarming email from Kindle. I needed to download some updates or lose my ability to use the gadget. That terrified me. I love my Kindle. My pets  being one and two, my Kindle is the third thing I will take with me in case of fire.

What scared me most to accomplish the updates was that I would need access to either wireless or WiFi as I needed to connect my Kindle to one  or the other and let it work all night.

Well I have to drive 4 miles for the wireless connection that I pick up in a church parking lot and have no access to WiFi that I can use all night.  I could have sent my Kindle to spend the night with a friend in town but I thought I would try plan C.  That involved downloading the updates to my computer then transferring them to the Kindle.

I tried but couldn't figure it out---it turned out for good reason--so I hit the "call me now" button on the site.  I was stunned for my phone rang immediately and I was told I had a one minute wait. Wow.  Ten seconds later, Anna came on the line.   As soon as I heard her perfect English with a decided Indian accent, I knew I was in trouble. I had crossed the ocean.   I have a hard time with any accent originating outside of the US.

Anna was very patient and I pushed the phone hard on my ear so as not to miss a syllable and tried not to make her repeat herself too much.  For the next hour and 15 minutes, we struggled as the process was quite complicated.  There were 4 separate downloads that took about 15 minutes each to accomplish and each one had multiple steps. I was drained and I know Anna was too. She was so patient and eventually we accomplished it.

If you wish to update your Kindle, I highly recommend the over night option. The over the phone one is totally draining but if you do choose plan C, I hope you get Anna. She gives it her all.

I don't know why I have trouble with accents.  British TV shows or movies make me struggle. Probably why I am the only American that didn't watch Downton Abbey.  I am always missing the joke on Modern Family when Sofia speaks. Maybe it is a  hearing deficit but this has been with me for all my life.  Probably the main reason I could never learn another language and I have tried. Perhaps I am accent deaf.

Do you have any problems with foreign accents?

INVENTIONS FOR 2016

First I want to thank everyone for stopping by while I was inactive and struggling. You left such sweet and encouraging messages that made my day. It really meant more than you can imagine. I had problems with my medications that took forever to straighten out since they were necessary. 

Somehow, sitting at my computer was the most painful. I was one giant gas balloon and was not really a popular choice for social functions. Gas is not fatal and certainly not glamorous but it hurts. Just ask a colicky baby.  I'm almost straightened out now and hope to be back bugging you on your sites.

Thank you so very much again. I've said it before but it bears repeating, you are the best. 

Below are some things I would like to see invented during this promising year of 2016. If you can make them work, you are welcome to the idea--I would just like access to the finished product. You can handle all the money, stress and headaches that would come with being the inventor.

It has been told by people who have had near death experiences and have seen themselves lying there without life that we would never recognize our dead selves. All we have ever seen are the flat images of a mirror or photo.  We may not be as cute as we think or we possibly may be cuter.

So what I would like to see invented is a three dimensional mirror.  How nice to be able to see ourselves as others see us. Then we would see if our self images are correct. Hey, if we can have 3D phone images, why not a mirror?

Next and this is very doable.  I would like an app for doctors so that when they prescribe a medicine, the app connects to our prescription list from other doctors and would warn them that what we are all ready taking will not work well with that new medicine.

"WHOA , RETHINK THAT PRESCRIPTION" might be a good warning for the doctors. With so many specialists today branching out from the primary physician, often conflicting prescribing takes place. There are many souls in hospitals today for the simple reason of over medication.  Someone please work on that. I have been a victim.

One more thing then you can put your brains at rest. How about a dog wash? Now there is a gadget called a Woof Washer that does part of the job I'd like.

I want more. I mean like a car wash only for doggies.  It wouldn't have to be huge and should fit in a utility room so it could be used year round.  You would goggle your dog, then lead him through a device that lathers them up, rubs them gently, rinses, then blow dries the animal so that a sweet smelling pet emerges at the end. Quick, easy, no back strain, non messy and no groomer fees. A final squirt of cologne would be optional.

Ok, that should keep you busy for a while. Let me know when you have a prototype ready.

Anything you would love to see invented this year??

REALIZING YOU MIGHT TALK TOO MUCH

The other day I was pleasantly surprised by a phone call from my cousin Jean who lives in  Staten Island, NY.   Now I don't have a large blood relative pool. Each of my parents had one sibling who in turn had only one child. Obviously we weren't  known for our  breeding skills.

Thus, I only have two cousins. Jean whom I have seen maybe 8 times in my life and Gale on my father's side that I have only seen twice.   I have to admit, that is pretty pitiful. We have just never lived anywhere close to one another.

Now Jean and I exchange the annual Christmas news letters and that about covered our communication till the next year. Jean is 12 years older than I and has been widowed for some time.   

For some unknown reason, neither of us sent the annual letters this past Christmas. I kept thinking I would and it just never happened. Since Jean much prefers talking to writing , she decided to call to see if I were still on the planet or should be mourned. 

What a delight it was to hear from her and to get caught up with her family. Jean is just a lovely person.  She was my role model when I was a kid and someone I wanted so much  to be like when I grew up.  She was pretty, funny, confident,  a nurse and had married a handsome, adoring man. One of those women who had it all.

For some unknown reason, since I was a child, she always insisted that I looked like Liz Taylor. The only thing LT and I had in common was dark, thick eyebrows.   In fact when I was younger, my brows almost formed  a uni-brow which I thought was so gross.  For some reason, my mom wouldn't let me pluck.

Below is a picture of Jean and yours truly in Key West during one of our 8 visits. I was in my late 20's and she was 40. Jean on the left and me on the right with big hair and a blissfully thin body. We definitely had the same cheek bone structure and short stature.

The next time we met, I was 40 and she was 52. She and her husband had come to stay with me for a few days in Florida when I had my animal shelter. Jean loves animals and she really enjoyed the group in my care.

I had a video camera then, one of those huge ones that rested on your shoulder  so I made a tape for them to take with them of their meeting of all the animals. As we watched the tape later, all Jean could say was, “Do I really talk that much?”

Her husband just grinned broadly and said nothing. Something I am sure he was use to doing. The tape was  a running commentary of Jean's voice. Now it is not that she was boring, she just talked non-stop and it was caught on tape. Pretty sure it was the first time she actually heard herself.  

I had forgotten about that trait that till the phone call. Jean would ask questions about me or my brother and almost before I could finish a few quick sentences, she would be relating a fun memory of the three of us. About an hour into the conversation, the phone line went “click, click” and died.

She had mentioned having phone troubles so I assumed it was on her end. I did not try to call her and waited for her to call back if it were possible on her end. After 10 minutes, I figured her service must be totally down and I prepared to go outside when the phone rang. It was Jean again.

Seems she had continued talking almost the whole ten minutes the line was dead.  She didn't even notice I wasn't there. That makes one feel "special".  She is one of those talkers with great breath control so often there is not even a pause so that one could grunt "uh huh."

I should say here that professional, breath control talkers don't really bother me for I all ready know all about myself and I like learning about others. Who knows when a story idea will come from such a conversation? Like now. 

We both laughed a lot over Jean's conversation with dead air.  She then suggested that during the rest of our talk, if I would periodically just say “beep, beep,” then she would know we were still connected. See, all she needed from me was a few "beeps".  My job was easy.  

We  no sooner hung up when the phone rang again. I fluffed up my ear and prepared my self for another session thinking Jean had forgotten something. We,  She talked a total of 2.5 hours, pretty sure 8 minutes of that time I actually had the floor. My ear felt glued flat to my head.  I probably should have gone to speaker function. 

However it was my brother checking to see if I had blown away in the recent tornadoes. He said he had been trying to call me but kept getting a busy signal all morning and was about to give up. He was convinced no one talks that long and that it had to be mechanical problems or storm damage.

Jim and I talked for about 30 minutes and my ear stuck to my head again. However this time it was a give an take conversation. Aahhh. Good thing also for I was beginning to think that maybe the reason I blog is just to finally have total control of a conversation.  Ya think?

Do you have a talker like that in your life, or is it maybe you?

STRANGE SIGHTS

When Florida Turnpike redesigned its uniform shirts, they were met with jeers from the collectors.
Our first reaction was “too busy, Magnum PI'ish, and too Hawaiian. Since there was no choice in the matter and I will wear anything as long as everyone else has to, we climbed into the shirts. Though we were one of the smaller exits, our unusual name, Yeehaw Junction , allowed us front of shirt honors.

What none of us were ready for was the public's craving for those very shirts. The tourists went nuts for them. I was offered $50.00 for one of mine. Had I been wearing a decent bra that day and could have thought of a good cover story, I might have accommodated that tourist. There was such a clamor for the shirts that the state started selling them at the service plazas. Pretty soon, it was hard to tell a tourist from a collector. Go figure.

While working for the turnpike, I was nightly exposed to strange stuff. I believe people think when they are in their cars they have on a cloak of invisibility. The booths are higher than the cars so we pretty much saw everything. Here are some of the bizarre, sad, and sometimes illegal happenings.

Probably the grossest yet silliest were the masturbaters. The exhibitionist types did not try to hide what they were doing, and would just grin really big at our shocked expressions. Fortunately, all those I saw had Sun Passes so there was no exchange of money or tickets. Not sure how I would have managed if I had to make change. Yuck. We called them Wienie Wavers.

We had radio contact with FHP ( the Florida Highway Patrol) at all times. We would call in the "wavers" for indecent exposure. There was one lady cop that hated the WW boys and as soon as we reported one, she would come flying off the Turnpike in hot pursuit. Don't think she ever caught any but she sure tried.

One sad event was a young man in his twenties that I took off one really slow night. I was my usual "try to make everyone smile" self but he just had no expression. I thought he was probably just really tired when he asked where the nearest motel was. We were in the boondocks of Florida. I gave him directions to the only one in 30 miles, a rather old motel at the intersection. Half an hour later, every FHP in the area came flying off the pike.

It seems the man checked into the motel, the clerk heard a shot and called the police. The young man had just barely closed the door when he stuck a gun in his mouth and killed himself. He looked no different than any other customer that night, yet he carried a terrible burden, one he could not live with. I once heard that suicide was a “permanent solution to a temporary problem.” I was consumed with "what ifs" but my rational mind knows nothing I could have done would have stopped him. I was haunted by that man for a long time.

Equally as sad and as haunting, one night as I was getting ready to leave, there was a ruckus in the lanes. My wild eyed boss came in and asked if anyone knew CPR. It seems a passenger in a car, had suffered an apparent heart attack about 3 miles out. I told him I knew CPR and hurried to the parking lot where 3 of his family stood outside the car in panic looking at a man slumped in the passenger seat.

I felt his neck for a pulse but his neck was so swollen, I could feel nothing. I asked the man in the group to help me put him on the ground so I could start CPR. Fortunately for me, the FHP pulled up. Two officers put him on the ground and started to work on him immediately.

The tourists were a middle aged, oriental foursome that had just come from Disney World. They said that he had just made a gurgling noise, then slumped over. He had no previous heart problems.

His wife grabbed my arm and hung on to the point of hurting. I will never forget her plaintive wail as she screamed into the night, ”Jackie, don't leave me.” As I write this, I can hear that desperate cry.

An EMT arrived who worked frantically while waiting for the chopper to transport him but to no avail. Jackie did leave her that night. I really had never nor have I since, seen such raw pain and fear in a person.

On a lighter note, well for me anyway, one really slow night, a teenage girl pulled into my lane. She was on her cell phone and crying. Shoving the cell phone at me, she sobbed, “It's for you.”

Well that will bring you up short. Who was she and who was she talking to that knew me?? Tentatively, I took the phone and said a soft, “Hello?”

A slightly panicked male voice answered. “You have my daughter in front of you. Can you tell me where she is and help me get her home? She has been going up and down the turnpike and doesn't have any idea where she is so I can't help her.” God bless cell phones.

The poor child was in a full blown ugly cry. She had been trying to get to Orlando but when she stopped at a service plaza for gas near Orlando, she got turned around . Changing direction on the turnpike at a service plaza is not easy to do but possible. Now she was heading back where she had come from. Her dad and I figured if we could get her back to the same service plaza where she gotten confused, he could meet her there and lead her home.

I went over and over with her how to get back on the turnpike going the correct way. “Straight up over the hill” I pounded into her. Her tears were dry but son of a gun if she didn't turn left before the hill and headed back towards Miami. I got FHP on the radio and they were able to stop her, get her turned around and then lead her to the service plaza. God bless her, I hope she gave up driving forever that night.

I wrote about the 9/11 terrorist here so I'd say we just about saw it all.

Ninety nine point nine percent of the people we met were darlings and I really enjoyed them. The rest certainly kept us on our toes. You never knew what the next car would bring.

The next time you pay your toll--- smile, the collector has probably had a strange day.

GOSH, I LOVE THIS TOWN

The day started out iffy. There had been a real down pour that was officially canceling my plans to attend the Chuck Wagon races in Clinton. It is a pretty big event that had drawn over 1000 horses this year. I had planned to post the pictures and I was rather excited to see something so original.

It was a pretty fierce storm with a lot of lightening so I had unplugged all electronics. My brother called from Ohio but I begged off talking on the phone because of the storm. Two minutes after we hung up, there was a scary BOOM, and I saw a light flash out of the corner of my eye in the house. Now lightening and I have met before and while I obviously survived and actually had a marvelous high for days, I really didn't want a repeat.


I checked my kitchen light and found it was out, probably the flash I saw. Then I checked my breakers and one was tripped which I reset. Everything seemed fine and in working order after I changed the light bulb. However my phones were unusable due to a loud roaring sound instead of a dial tone.


The storm calmed down a lot but I knew it would be a muddy track for the races and not a good day for that. Those plans canceled, I decided to drive to Missouri to get my lotto ticket which had just expired. I get 15 draws when I go so I don't have to go often and I usually pick one up for a friend while I am there. Mighty loves the trip so we looked forward to the scenic drive. We set out in a drizzle and the closer we got to Missouri, the nicer it got. It was a pleasant trip and the ride was beautiful.

It was afternoon when I returned. Going through the town closest to me on the return trip, I entered an intersection that has a yield, curving right turn lane at the stop light. The car ahead of me pulled through and I craned my head to the left to make sure it was clear when "THUNK." Instead of continuing through, the fellow ahead of me suddenly decided to stop though nothing was coming and I hit him.

Aw crap. When ever that happens, there is always that instant when you really wish you had a "do over." I was only going 5 miles per hour so no one was hurt and we pulled into a restaurant parking lot to get off the highway.

Now in some parts of the country, this is cause for practicing your blue vocabulary, middle finger dexterity and elevating your blood pressure. True, there was only minor damage but there is that ugly deductible to be met and raised insurance rates which is never pleasant. It could easily have been a situation for tempers.

Damage was minimal, he lost a light and I got a dent in my bumper. Important thing was, all necks and backs were fine. It took a while before the police arrived so we chatted. Turns out we were coming from the same place and he laughingly said, we should have ridden together. We did the "do you know?" routine but had no common friends. They were "lived all their lives in same town" locals and I am still a newbie. In no time however, we were laughing and enjoying each other.

Our accident was written up and it was time to part. They opened their arms and it was hugs all around with "call me" requests. We all agreed it was so nice to have met, just not so nice the way we did. They were a very delightful couple and while I hate the accident, I am glad to have met them.

I have lived in areas where this would not have played out the same way. There would have been accusations and finger pointing though not on my behalf as I am an admitted wuss and it was my fault, I hit him. The civility displayed is why I love this town. There is a gentleness coupled with plain old fashioned good manners here. Such a joy.

One more instance of why I love this town. When I got home the friend that I got the Lotto ticket for called and when I told her what happened with the lightening strike, she relayed the fact that she knew of someone that the same thing had happened to, lights, breakers and etc. She said they did nothing and their house burned to the ground about 3 days after the strike, from a short I would suppose.

Well now, that bit of information will keep you awake, so I called an electrician who had done work for me before, at about 7:30 Saturday night. I talked to his girl friend and she said he would be over after church on Sunday. I was thrilled, it being Labor Day weekend and all. They left a little while ago after testing my outlets and breaker wiring. He found no problems. The other reason I love this town?? Quick service ---on a holiday and---- no charge.

Had all this occurred in your area, would the results have been the same? Do you have similar stories?? In our screwed up world today, good people deserve a shout out. They so outnumber the idiots.