Good Afternoon;
So, I'm here at the library in passing on my way from Owings Mills where I just met with my friend Paul, who is a 'Loyal Reader' from almost the beginning of my blogging who contaced me by e-mail, we messaged back and forth for a time and then finally met. Now we get together for coffee and lunch when time and circumstance allow, (he's a busy guy..his job took hin to St.Louis for a week end once....that lasted for 2 weeks....lol). I met him at the St. Thomas Starbucks where I used to frequent and renewed some acquaintances there with employees and a couple patrons who also read the blog, and we wento Wendy's where he bought me lunch. We ended up spending a couple hours talking and catching up, and as we were getting up to leave, he presented me with a $50.00 gift Mastercard as a Christmas present to get some things for my daughter and grandkids. Wow!!, Thanks Paul! Merry Christmas to you and the family.
I'm on my way next to the Starbucks in Mt. Washington and the Whole Foods where Michel, (hey! I forgot about her, that is Another Michelle in my life....lol!, [even if she does spell it with one L and one E]...) told me to come by before 5:00 pm. today because she has something for me...(and I think it may be her family's famous Sweet Potatoe Pie!.....Yummmm!).
Then it's the close the Starbucks and back to the shed for the night, and it's supposed to be another cold night. Last night was cold but I was warm enough, (as I was the night before which I forgot to mention yesterday), except for having to get out of the bag to chase away the pesky mouse who was getting into my food! For the first time in 2 years of sleeping in this shed I had an intruder that actually got into my food bag! Luckily it was only a 7/8 empty bag of Utz chips and the foil covered plastic of the packaging was crinkling loud enough to wake me. The first half dozen times I did not realize that he was actually in the bag, but thought he was just in the walls or rafters, scrabbling around on the paper side of the insulation. Sit up, turn on the lantern, bang on the walls, ....repeat x 5; then I saw the bag wiggle and jumped up and just missed the little bastard as he took off running through a hole in the wall. I emptied the bag and inspected every thing and found that only the chips bag had been breeched by the perp, though the outer bag of my package of spiral sliced ham showed signs of illegal forced entry, (sorry, slipping into 'cop talk' from the bad old B&E days.....lol!), though he had left a few tiny black 'calling cards'. After I shook out and repacked everything, Thank goodness my Willy Wonka 'Scrumpdiddlyicious' bar was untouched!!!, and used a rubber strap with S hooks on either end and hung it from the center of the ceiling. Of course this was at Midnight and I did not get back to sleep until 8:00 am. and it was too cold to put my hands out of the sleeping bag to hold a book to read. Good thing I have a really vivid imagination and a great fantasy life.....LOL!, that helped pass the time. It was another "I don' wanna get-up it's too cold....." whiny morning and I finally got up at 10:00 am. to hit the Giant, use the facilities to wash and etc., and make a cup of Land O' Lakes French Vanilla Hot Chocolate with a couple of tubes of Nescafe Classico instant coffee tossed in for octane. Yay!! the Ginat's hot water is really HOT again. Enough so that the drink was to too hot and I had to wait for it to cool....of course with a double wall and air gap insulated travel mug that works really, really well...it took a while......LOL!
Anyway, I'm pretty much done here at the library today, and they are closed both Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, & I'll be over Jenn's with Rachel on the 26th, Sunday, with no laptop, and on the 27th I have the Neurosurgeons appointment.....sooo, I may not be back online until Tuesday.
I want to wish everyone, 'Loyal Readers', Followers, Newbies, and those who just googled something and were referred here and are wondering WTF?, the happiest and safest of Holidays. Try to extend the holiday spirit you share with your friends and family to someone who may have no one else say a word to them all day.
Food, Mittens, Money.....or even an acknowledgement of their humanity, NO...of all our 'shared humanity'. A simple greeting of Merry Christmas and eye contact and a smile could be the difference between the strength to struggle on for one more day, or just giving up and letting go.
Between the cold and hopelessness, who knows how many winter deaths are a form of passive suicide?
Merry Christmas....Happy Holidays
Later..........................Dave
No comments:
Post a Comment