I Almost Missed the Bus!

I’m always a bit on edge the days I get an injection in my eye. I try not to worry, even though I’m really good at worrying, but that is not the way to live. Anyone who says they trust God to take care of them should trust him with EVERYTHING. I was ready for the bus that would take me to Sylva. I did a few things at the back of the house, and as I came to the front, I saw the bus already in the driveway. It was at least 20 minutes early. I was ready the required one and a half hours before my appointment, and he was earlier than that! I grabbed my pocketbook and rushed to the door. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The bus was backing out of the driveway!! Thankfully, he saw me and pulled back in.

As I climbed into the bus, I said he was earlier than I expected. He said he had another passenger, and I saw a woman in a wheelchair behind me. She was going to the same office, though she was having an evaluation rather than an injection.

If the driver followed the usual procedure, he would have called the dispatcher, who would then have called me. I looked back at my phone record, and there was no call from Haywood Transit. The driver felt he had done his duty, but I would have been left behind with no way to keep my appointment.

At the doctor’s office, the receptionist couldn’t find my papers, I said the bus got me there very early. The wheelchair woman rolled up and said, “And the bus got me here late.”

When I was finished, I went outside and spoke to the bus driver. I told him I’d wait inside for the other woman, so she wouldn’t have to call the office. As she rolled toward the desk, I told her I was the one who had been in the bus with her, because she kept saying she couldn’t see anything. We went outside together, and the driver pulled in to get us. It all ended happily.

Welcome to the New Neighbor

The following was hand-written on an 8×11 piece of paper and hung on the back of a porch chair that I took across the street:

Words of

Welcome!

because I’ve already waved at you.

You can use the chair to sit on the front porch, on the back porch, or inside.

My name is Auntie Moron. 987-654-3210

Please text if I can help you with anything. I usually don’t answer a call if I don’t know who is calling.

I knew the house across the street had changed hands, but I saw only a woman driving a car from behind the house. I had waved at her as she waited for the real estate agent to join her. Call me crazy, but the only way I could think of getting her attention was leaving something large on the front porch. She texted me, and we then sat on my porch for a little while. It was wonderful to know her first name and to begin to get to know her. Her husband won’t be here permanently for a while, but at least we have made a start at being neighborly.

For those of you who think I stalk people with a camera, I want you to know that I did NOT take her picture. I would ask first and snap only with permission. I will find out eventually if she is allergic to cameras.

My Overnight Guest

Gradually the people who helped move neighbors Shawn and Bob went home, and all was quiet. Shawn said she and Bob noticed some things that needed attention when the furniture was out of the house. They were going to fix those things and go spend the night with family. I didn’t look outside until I went out to walk the next morning. My guest was there in the driveway! Bob had asked for permission to park his truck and the trailer there. They couldn’t be left on the property that was no longer theirs.

Bob did a great job of parking, getting the truck and trailer well to one side. It’s likely both will be gone before I need to get my car out. Meanwhile, my property looks like busy people live here. That’s not a bad image to project if nosy people come looking at houses that were/are for sale on this street.

I just realized it’s marvelous that I didn’t have to feed my guest. Can you imagine how much it would cost to fill up that truck?

Countdown to Moving Day

The day before the move, I took this photo of a clock in my bedroom and a solar light on the deck. That little light came from Dollar Tree and is the best solar item I’ve ever had. It soaked up the afternoon sun and was still giving out light the next morning.

Later, neighbors D and Jeff brought over the houseplants. No, I’m not moving, but Shawn and Bob are. Perhaps Shawn knew that former neighbor Joyce’s plants survived in my living room for several weeks before she moved. It’s not a reassuring thing to trust one’s plants to a neighbor who claims to have black thumbs, not green ones. The photo shows some of the plants with mine. The rest of Shawn’s got two windows of their own in the dining room.

Perhaps plants sense changes. The largest one peered over my computer and stuck out its tongue at me.

The day of the move, this is what the street looked like. There were five vehicles and a trailer. People were running about like ants.

After most of the vehicles left, Shawn was chatting with an old woman near my mailbox. The woman lost her balance and was falling. She would have tumbled over a huge rock and into the ditch below if Shawn hadn’t caught her! Oh! What a miracle! I am most thankful, because the old woman was me!! I have no idea what I tripped on. Shawn might very well forget that crisis – that on the day she moved, she also saved a neighbor’s life!

Thank you, Shawn. And thank you, God.

Car Repair

I dread car repairs, because I don’t really don’t know much about cars. I felt a bit better when the mechanic identified the squeaks as brake pads needing to be replaced. We made an appointment for five days later. I knew there was a space in the service station office where people sometimes sat, but would there be room for me on the appointed day? Would I need to walk around in the shop or outside for a couple of hours? I arrived about ten minutes before the set time, parking before the bay I thought he might use. Before I shut off the engine, I saw the mechanic coming toward me. “You are the nine o’clock appointment, right? I’m ready for you right now.”

I sat down inside, having the bench area all to myself. There was a constant stream of people coming to the service desk. Suddenly I recognized a man’s voice and got up to speak to him. I never knew his real name, but I called him Woodman when telling people about him. He reduced logs to firewood beside the road I walked on to get to the creek. I said, “I’m the one who used to walk by every morning.”

“Oh! How are you? Yes, I remember you. Your hair is lots shorter now.” He did recognize me! We established the fact that we both are fine and said our farewells.

I enjoyed the warmth from the wood-burning stove next to the bench. The photo shows the stove and an inviting rocking chair opposite the bench.

A man came and stood before the stove, and I remarked that the warmth felt good. He said, “Yes, I’m gonna put some in my pockets for later.”

With that he put his hands in his pockets to open them a bit to catch warm air before he walked away.

I certainly did not expect to see someone I knew or to have a mini-conversation with a stranger. I was surprised that only an hour had passed before the cashier said my car was ready. I told myself I should be ashamed of dreading something that turned out to be delightful.

Moving Houseplants

Neighbor Shawn and I sat on my porch one evening to watch the sun set behind the mountains. When the rays of the sun were no longer shining on us, it became chilly quickly. That may have been what prompted her comment that it was about time to take plants in for the winter. I knew I had been getting cool at night and finally switched the system from cooling to heating. If I felt it, I’m sure my plants were even more aware of it. Poor plants. All these years here I didn’t take them inside until temperatures were almost freezing. It just shows what a novice I am.

Still, I was in no special hurry. A day or so later I thought I’d at least trim the plants. That didn’t take long, so I began to move them to their winter quarters in the living room. It was as big a job as I remembered and promptly took a break half way through. It’s awkward to hold a big pot in front of yourself and navigate around furniture. I slept well that night and presume the plants did, too.

In daylight I took a photo, probably to congratulate myself on doing something I would rather have put off. I’m writing this in the same room with the plants, gladly exchanging my carbon dioxide for their oxygen. Thank you, plants.

Logan!

I hadn’t seen neighbor Logan for ages, but he bopped across the road to visit with me for a few minutes. I was so pleased to see him and talk to him that I never thought of taking his photo. He is 16 years old now, looking and sounding very mature. His favorite sport, basketball, will begin in a month or so. I asked if he still had a ball in his hands much of the time, and he smiled and said yes.

I remembered that Logan always ran everywhere he went. Did he still do that?

He laughed and said, “Yes, I ran over here just now.”

Most teenagers have a phone handy, and his rang. I asked, “Do you need to get that?”

He did need to answer. He was being picked up, and the car had just pulled up in front of his house. He gave me a quick hug and was off like a shot. Wow! What a whirlwind! It was marvelous to see him up close. His smile was as engaging as it always was.

First Names

When grandson David was with me, his mother Kate was chatting with us on the phone. We had already covered family news. They brought up puzzles and together began to do the day’s Connections. I was looking at it, too. We all noticed some last names, and I knew two who had the same first name. That turned out to be the key to one of the sets of four.

I don’t remember how it started, but I named the composer Beethoven, and one of them gave his first name – Ludwig. I was very pleased that they also gave some last names, some of which made me search my brain. We played our impromptu game for quite a while. David would search on line if we couldn’t get a name immediately, but we usually came up with it before his phone did. I was very impressed that they knew so many musical names. Yes, they were surrounded by music from birth, but that didn’t mean any of it would stick. Kudos to you, Kate and David!

It occurred to me that any group could play a game like that. Husband John would have been very good at names of politicians. He would also win over almost anyone if the category was historical figures. Some of you might be able to supply first names for designers of clothing. Leave me out of that one! You could make a game from almost any category if you knew your group’s interests – anything from architects to writers.

Car Repairs

The red warning light came on in Kate’s car as she drove home from work. We’ve been taught not to ignore such a dire warning, so the next day she drove to the dealer in the next town. From there, she called the store to let them know she was taking the day off. She doesn’t have family or friends who could have picked her up.

Oh! My! They went into a tizzy! Kate is in charge of shopping the orders that are sent through the internet. There was one worker who could do the shopping and would be there until 1:00, but after that they had no one. The assistant store manager picked her up, and someone should get her back to her car before the shop closes.

The diagnosis for the car was a clogged gas filter and a heat shield that needed to be replaced. Presumably it will be finished today.

Meanwhile, I was alarmed that my car brakes squealed the last time I drove it. I called the service station at the bottom of the hill. The woman said the repairman had just come back, so I should bring the car down for him to look at it. She said to ask for Thomas (not his real name). I parked in front of the service bay and stood there a minute, trying to figure out who to ask. A young man changing a tire said he had gone around the corner. I stood there for several minutes, wondering if Thomas had gone “around the bend”, not the corner. A young woman that I had mistakenly pegged as a stranded motorist, asked was I looking for Thomas. She came back and said he would be with me when he finished something, about five minutes.

Thomas came rushing around the corner and said he’d take the car for a spin, because he could probably tell what was wrong with it by the sounds. He backed up, and the car did its squeal. He pulled forward next to a gas pump, where it protested again. He jumped out, looked at the rear tire, and told me the pads needed to be replaced. I had a choice of going to buy the pads myself at an auto parts store or waiting until next week. He expected that, looked at a calendar, and announced I should bring it in on Tuesday at 9:00 am. Yes, sir! I’ll be there!

Visiting the Truck

As I walked down the hill, almost home from my walk, I saw neighbor Bob walk around his truck. He had asked to park it in my driveway for a few days while they had things going on across the street. This was fine with me, since I need only half the drive, anyway. I was amused at our short chat.

I asked, “Are you visiting your truck?”

He got in the spirit of the conversation and replied,, “Yeah. Kinda missed it.”

He had come over to take the truck home and found the battery dead. He would be back to jump start it. Before he took a step, his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, wondering aloud who wanted him.

“Did they hang up?” I asked.

He replied, “They just let it ring once. Guess they didn’t want to talk to me.”

I said, “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

“Right!” he agreed and headed home.

That’s the kind of chat we have around here, but most of the time I don’t remember the words long enough to write them.