The Wrecker Guy
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Saturday, 16 February 08 - 05:01 PM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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It was a dark and snow stormy night.
My husband's precious VW truck conked out on his way home from work.
It was 1 am in the morning.
He waited in the cold for the AAA wrecking service to come.
The wrecker came within 20 minutes of his call.
The truck was loaded up on the flatbed and my husband hopped in for the ride along. They had to travel about five miles to our house.
It was now a little before 2 am.
The wrecker guy backed up his truck and unloaded the sad little VW into our driveway as I was watching out the livingroom windows that overlooked the driveway.
After the truck was unloaded, my husband thanked him.
I overheard the wrecker guy said he had to take a leak and my husband said "be my guest". The wrecker guy went into our backyard through the 15-18' of drifted snow, found a spot, opened up his zipper and then all of our automatic high watt floodlights (6 of them) shone upon him doing his thing. (We lived around woods and water so we had to have them to keep the "creatures" away from the house.)
He was a bit shocked and upset.
We thought it was sad but funny.
Poor wrecker guy. We love him and remember him oh so fondly.
The Hippie Girl
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Thursday, 14 February 08 - 12:38 PM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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I have no idea why she popped into my head this morning.
Maybe so I could write a blog post about her.
I can't remember her name though I remember it was unusual.
She worked with me at a small Book Store located in a shopping plaza strip mall.
She dressed hippie funk like and wore dangly earrings and tons of jingle-ley silver bracelets and macrame type necklaces with funky beads.
She was a few years older than me.
Her boyfriend would show up in his beat up van like clockwork.
She would take her break leaving me in the store by myself while she went out to the van.
Her breaks were some times longer than allowed.
The van had a mattress in the back for those "impromptu naps".
Sometimes I would look out the store window and see the van rollicking.
Sometimes she would be smoking the weed out there too and come back to work a bit glassied eyed.
Gosh, she even issued me an invite which I refused.
She gave new meaning to a "working girl" and "irresponsibility".
She was unreliable and a nuisance to have to work with.
HMMMMM?
I don't know what happened to her, she did not show up for work and was gone. The managers only worked days.
This is the first time in ages I thought of her. I hope she straightened her life out by now.
The Train Man
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Friday, 25 January 08 - 05:24 PM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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My husband has been given several trains to fix (repair or paint) for a young man who has a disability and loves trains. His Dad works with my husband. For several years he has done this and never met the young man till last weekend.
My husband picked the young man up and brought him over to his uncle's house, "The Train Man". This was the first meeting for all of them. They played with the trains for a few hours and chatted and my son tagged along.
The lady of the house had my son look for a lost knitting needle, which he found then paid him $2.00 for his service. I thought this was funny, cute, and simple entertainment.
Anyways, on Wednesday, my husband came home with a huge pre-war Lionel engine, a gift from "The Train Man" for helping his nephew fixing his trains the past few years. We were quite surprised, shocked, but appreciative and grateful. I cannot tell you how happy my husband was with this unexpected gift. He sent a train thank you card.
So sometimes, the little things, the little kindnesses can mean so much and eventually you get something unexpected from it.
Do something kind for someone and brighten their day.
Mrs. Johnson
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Saturday, 05 January 08 - 08:54 PM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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In college, I worked at the grocery store.
This older woman kept on coming in and buying candy, she said for her guests.
I started to call her the "Candy Lady".
She would always come through my line and we would have chit chat and laugh.
One day she invited me to her home for a lawn fete. She lived up the street from the store in a large gingerbread Victorian house.
I went and had a nice time. After that, I would visit her and her husband on Sunday afternoons.
Her husband then passed away after falling down the stairs and cutting himself badly on the stained glass window while she was out at a concert. She found him on the floor bleeding when she got home.
(It was a few steps, a landing with the stained glass window on the right, up more stairs on the left, another landing, and then a few more stairs to the left and you were on the second floor. He fell from the top of the stairs.)
After that, we spent much time together. I would have her over to dinner at my apartment (down the street from her) and she would have me. I really liked her despite our 50 year age difference. I even brought my Grandmother and Great Aunt over to met her when they visited.
A few years after I got married, Mrs. Johnson passed away.
She died of throat cancer although she did not smoke, her husband did.
She was such a lovely lady indeed. I miss her.
Santa Claus
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Monday, 17 December 07 - 05:11 PM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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MY! I see children acting up and frustrated parents. So I just go up to them, with my cell phone in hand and tell them I can call Santa up if they would like to speak to him. I ask if it is ok to call him up to the parents.
So I dial up my dh's number (listed under "Santa Claus") and say "Hello Santa, oh, you are working on the Naughty or Nice list? Is [name of the child] on there? Not yet, ok I will put them on. You better talk to them"
Usually the child is stunned and the bad behavior stops right away.
(Most are between the ages of 4-7, the Believers)
So the child talks to "Santa" for a minute or so usually in shock.
Then the parents say thanks for the distraction, chuckle and say that Santa is always watching so you better be good to their children!
Cell phones can be fun if used wisely.
Taco Bell Dude
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Wednesday, 28 November 07 - 09:46 AM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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Recently we went to the drive up at Taco Bell and ordered three Crunch Wrap Supremes with tax it came to $6.45.
We drove up to the window, waited a few minutes and then the young guy opened the window took our money and then closed the window and walked away. We gave him a twenty dollar bill and 45 cents in change.
He then came back a few minutes later and gave us our bag of food.
We told him we needed change. So he gives us $3.55 back and closes the window and walks away.
We try to get his attention, tell him he gave us back the wrong change and he can't figure out what the problem is since he already gave us back our change. After we explain the transaction he sleep walked through, he takes the 55 cents back and gives us a dollar and closes the window and walks away again!
Again, we get his attention and tell him, we gave him a tweny dollar bill plus the correct change and need the $10. back since we only got $4. Still confused, he thinks as if an effort, opens the draw, and gives us the other $10. owed. After 20 minutes, we can leave the drive up with our fast food order.
Pretty sad that money simple math is so confusing to young people.
Makes me wonder what our world will be like if more of these people are employed, vote, or are in political office in the future.
Zoltar the Magnificient
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Tuesday, 20 November 07 - 12:16 AM (GMT -05:00) By J M L in People |
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"Zoltar" -- not really a person, but is being filed under one.
One of our traditions is going to Canobie Lake Park (Salem NH) on Labor Day Weekend.
One year they had Zoltar in his booth, a mechanical fortune teller wearing a turban and talking with a heavy accent. Once you pay him a dollar, he starts to move and talk telling you your fortune, then whatever he says, is printed on a small piece of paper and is dispensed for your good luck and future reading as a reminder.
Well, my husband wanted to get his fortune from Zoltar but my children loudly objected and told him he was wasting his money on nonsensical fun.
He did it. They continued to object, even to this day.
The other day before I went to my Saturday class, the local Girl Scouts had a fund raising yard sale at the town hall starting at 8 am. I went and what did I find? a little talking "Zoltar-esque" (press the button) refrigerator magnet, so I just put it in the bucket I was buying and was thrilled. Zoltar cost less (cash and carry) at the sale than what my husband paid but no print out.
When I got home at about 4 pm, my husband spied it immediately.
We put it on the frig to see how long the children would notice.
"It was in the cards" they found it so quickly.
Zoltar the Magnificient, a wise guy and my husband's whimsical chance he took for a memory never to be forgotten.
Yes, it was in the cards for me to find this little gem.
Picture of Zoltar -- some think he is creepy, you be the judge.
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