YESTERDAY

 

It has been an amazingly Sunny November, until this Morning that is, the clouds have returned. It is still a nice day with temperatures well above freezing. Anything can happen here, in November, we could have two feet of snow.

Yesterday, was an odd day. Do you ever have a day when it seems that the planets are not aligned in your favor? It all started in the Morning when I went to get the paper in Ogilvie. I filled up the gas tank on my little truck and purchased the paper; when I went to leave my truck wouldn't start. I tried several times and it seemed that only the solenoid would click, as if the battery was weak or had a bad connection. When I went to open up the hood it wouldn't release. After several tries, I realized I was yanking on the brake release. I have only owned this truck since 1998, it takes a little time to get used to everything. When I got the hood raised. I examined the battery connection. It looked good.

I decided that I couldn't leave the truck sitting at the gas pumps on a busy Sunday Morning, I had to call a tow truck. The folks, that supply the towing service here, are the same people who service my vehicles, that's good. I went into the store to use their phone. The young man, who is the clerk, hands me a cell phone and says, “You have to dial one first.” I have the phone in my hand and I don't even know how to turn it on. I communicate my distress and he dials the number for me. I tell Jamie my dilemma and ask her to call the tow truck and come and get me.

I go back out to the truck to await the tow truck or Jamie [whoever gets there first]. I wait. The guy next to me says, “How are things going?” I say, “Not so good. I can't get my truck started.” I tell him I think it is the switch on the clutch. The clutch needs to be engaged for the starter to work. I mention, it will just click. He tells me if it clicks the clutch switch must be working. Well that makes sense. He says he will short across the solenoid to see what happens. I get in the truck, turn on the ignition, and before he can do anything, I turn it to start and it starts right up. I thanked him and he assured me he didn't do anything. He said, “Maybe I scared it.”

I went into the store to use the phone, again, to cancel the tow truck. This time it was a lady clerk who handed me the phone. After some clumsy negotiations, I got her to call the number [they were very busy]. The line was busy for several minutes. I finally got through to Jamie and asked her to cancel the tow truck. Thankfully it took a while to get a hold of them, so nobody was inconvenienced. During this process I did learn to use a cell phone.

When I got home I tried starting the truck a couple times; no trouble. I wonder what the problem was. I hope I never find out. I mean, the only way I could find out is if it happens again.

This adventure didn't spoil my mood. I was grateful it had a good outcome. When I got home I contemplated watching the Vikings and reading the paper. But then I did have things to do. I wanted to get the top off an oil drum and use it for a burn barrel. I couldn't find the needed chisels. I looked every where I thought they might be, going up and down the basement stairs twice, not a pleasant trip for an old codger. I went out to the garage to look at the drum, I turned it over to see what the other end looked like, The top was already removed. Then I remembered, I asked the guy, I got it from, to cut the top off for me. A nice surprise. Then, I look for a drill, to cut some drain holes in the bottom. I find the drill and can't find the chuck key. I start to search the work area, when I remember to check the cord; of course the key is there by the plug. I have used a cordless, drill the last several times, I used a drill. I don't know, if that is sufficient excuse, for this mind fart.

Things kept happening. Little things. Clumsy little things. Spilling a waste basket. Knocking things off the coffee table with my feet. There seemed to be a succession of things. I can't remember them all. At the end of the day, when it was time to relax, I reached for a crystal carafe, a beauty, with a glass stopper. I bumped it, just gently; it fell just four inches, hit the back of the liquor cabinet and the top broke off. We knew it had a little crack right at the top, so it wasn't as devastating as it might have been. But what a way to end an error filled day.

But then that isn't all. The rest of the Evening was pleasant and uneventful, but I have one more thing to report. The rest of this narrative is not for the more sensitive. For several years, I have been taking an ounce or so of wheat bran, mixed in tomato juice, every Morning, to aid a certain body function. Yesterday, bizarre day that it was, I forgot. When I remembered, in the Afternoon, I thought I will just take some Inner Clean {a mild herbal remedy} before I go to bed. You guessed it. I awoke in the middle of the night and remembered what I had forgotten. I wasn't going to get up and go down stairs to the kitchen, in the middle of the Night, to remedy my forgetfulness. I laid there for awhile wondering what the consequences would be. I had no intention of giving in to my inclination to get up. I was cozy in bed and it probably would be okay. I wasn't facing the clock, I really didn't know what time it was. I rolled over, it was 3:15AM. Well, it was easier to get up than ponder an uncertain future. Now you know more than you wanted to know. Getting old is great fun.

Today, let the planets be aligned differently.

It was actually a good day and it is great to be alive.

Love and Peace, Gregg