The Once-in-a-While
Daily News
Things.
. . . and stuff.
1 I'm rough on things.
2 I just am.
3 All thumbs, most times.
4 I went through high school at a time where my thoughts changed. As a younger kid in grammar school, I LOVED things. I loved getting things. But when I got to high school, I became more serious, and less impressed by material things. I decided not to worship things so much. I grew up. I also realized something.
5 I tend to break things anyway, so I might as well come across as non-materialistic. Now that I'm older, I sort of like things again. Plus, I walk for exercise, and air-conditioned stores are nice places to increase daily walking statistics.
6 So on Sunday, we decided to stop lying around, and get out to some stores. We got some great things, mostly new summer clothes. But I also logged on a bunch of midday miles. It surprised me then when after an entire day of shopping for things, we came home exhausted only to find that some guy had parked directly in front of the house.
7 He had a beat-up, dented car, and was engaged in sitting in the seat texting, with engine running.
8 We were in our new van, so I didn't particularly want to park it across the street and annoy my other neighbors.
9 The weather was hot and muggy. The guy chilling in front of my house annoyed me. He could easily have moved his car around the corner, where there were no houses, but he seemed in a worried state of oblivion.
10 We decided to bypass this guy and go back out. There are no limits on the number of things one could buy in the course of a day.
11 Things.
12 Especially if some guy parked in front of my house seemed ready to set up camp.
14 It happens every Spring.
15 We had already "hiked" around 4.75 miles, and I was dawg tired. The last thing wanted to do was go out to yet another store and spend money I sort of have.
16 She loved the Adirondack chairs. I, on the other hand, got in the store with the attitude that I wasn't the least bit interested in buying anything.
17 I just wanted to leave for around fifteen or twenty minutes. That guy would have to have been done sitting around with his motor running by then.
18 We got into Tuesday Morning and they had been pretty picked over in the yard furniture department. The did have this one Acacia Adirondack, pure wood, for a $99.99.
19 Someone had purchased the other one, breaking up the pair.
20 Helene told me to sit in it and see how it felt. I rolled my eyes. They had only one, so why bother? But I went along with it.
21 "It hurts my ass," I said. "Probably needs a pillow."
22 She put a pillow on the chair, a sort of orangeish black color that went well with the Acacia/Cedar look.
23 I liked it. For whatever reason, when I stood up and looked at the Adirondack, I liked it. A lot.
24 I liked the laid-back angle it gave; I liked its design, and I really liked the wood-grain.
25 I didn't care any longer that they had only one.
22 She put a pillow on the chair, a sort of orangeish black color that went well with the Acacia/Cedar look.
23 I liked it. For whatever reason, when I stood up and looked at the Adirondack, I liked it. A lot.
24 I liked the laid-back angle it gave; I liked its design, and I really liked the wood-grain.
25 I didn't care any longer that they had only one.
26 In some mysterious way, this chair became an obsession. Maybe it was because I couldn't have it because there was only one left, and the place closed at six o'clock. But because it didn't seem that I could have it right then, I wanted it. I suddenly re-insttuted my youthful exuberance for things.
27 I asked the clerk if they had another in stock. He seemed nervous and told me they didn't. I asked if there was another Tuesday Morning store in Sacramento. This store was a brand new store, so a lot of the employees aren't going to have all the answers. He said he thought there was one in Folsom.
28 "If that's the last one, I'd like to buy it," I said. There is something alluring about any piece of furniture that comes already assembled. I looked at the piece and it was perfect for our relatively small back yard. The obsession for the thing overwhelmed me.
29 I bought it, and we threw it into the back of the van. I REALLY liked the look of the chair, and wanted to buy another.
30 Got home to a free space in front of the house. Dude had departed in his smog mobile. I couldn't wait to bring the new chair in and have a look at it in real time. We brought it in and it instantly changed our kitchen area. The obsession increased. I HAD to have a matching chair.
31 I Googled "Tuesday Morning stores Sacramento" and began dialing. It was around 5:30. The store in Folsom told me all the clerks were busy, and to call back later. Helene told me there was one in Citrus Heights, so I called. This guy answered the phone in four seconds. I described the chair, gave him the item number, and he said he'd check and get back to me. Within minutes he called back. His computer said they had SEVEN of them. "But I think they're all red," he said, words to that effect. My heart sank. But dude was all over it.
32 I heard him ask a worker to check if to see if they had the Acacia/Cedar looking ones. They did. I asked if I could buy it over the phone, and he said they would take it off the display area and put my name on it. Their policy is that if someone calls, they will hold it for 24 hours. I thanked the guy, and smiled. I was going to get a thing. I was excited. The only hesitation I had was that we were having a little work done in the back yard, and the workers don't always arrive at the same time. I never really know it they'll be there early, or if they might need to go to the store early and show up a little later.
33 I decided to shower, try on the new clothes I had bought and everything fit.
34 I'm of an age when I don't want to look good, I just want to avoid looking bad. I included new cargo shorts and a polo shirt.
34 Everything fit, even my sports socks. I laughed because I had spent most of the winter months wearing baggy bathing suits, pocket-tees, and neanderthally oversized dress shirts, quite the style for old geezers these days. I look like a walrus in a baseball cap when I walk around in the winter months.
35 I am the egg man. They are the egg men.
36 I awoke the next morning and opened the blinds. Some guy who looks like the aforementioned walrus was in my yard. I'm having a little landscaping done, and this guy's boss man said he'd do a little work, and assemble a small rake-shed for me. It's just weird to open your blinds and have a guy staring back in on a Monday morning.
37 Nice guy. At first I thought I was looking in the mirror. But the face morphed. I was already up and dressed in my new things. I was gonna head up to Citrus Heights. But it was Caitlin's birthday, so I needed to write or visit. We got her an awesome gift from this glamorous store called Ulta.
38 While eager to go up and grab that chair, I also wanted to get over to Caitlin's with the gift certificate, a smore's frappucino from Starbuck's, and a birthday balloon from the Dollar Store. They were out of Mylar balloon weights, but the gal behind the counter handed me some cheap strawberry body wash in a tiny bottle. She said I could keep it. So. We got it all, and looked forward to Caitlin's birthday morning.
39 Mission accomplished. I couldn't wait to see the Beebeez, and how they would react to a real live balloon. They don't see those all the time, so it was fun.
40 As soon as we walked in, the Beebeez came at us screaming and screeching, always my favorite part of the day. They jumped all over the balloon, and I kept saying, "B-b-b-ball-OOOOOOON!" Caitlin loved the gifts. No hurry on the chair. THIS was what life was all about.
41 After a goodly time, we decided we needed to get up to the Citrus Heights Tuesday Morning and pick up the Adorindack.
42 As soon as we got in, a gal who was going on her break stopped at the break-room door and asked us if we needed help. We described the chair, and she instantly got others to help us, and told us to feel free to keep shopping!
43 I LOVE things. We found a small Acacia/Cedar cart made by the same company that made the chairs, and it matched perfectly.
44 We THEN saw a five-piece patio table and chairs on the floor, but it was the last one, AND it had a damaged leg. They said they would sell it to us for 20% off. I looked at it and it looked a little too banged up. They called another store in Folsom, and they had some of those sets in stock.
45 We ALSO found three garden statues of two girls and one boy playing in a garden. All three had a few dents and bruises, but we figured we could touch them up and stick them around bushes and trees. This all became an adventure.
46 We got to the other store and this gal with a decidedly Eastern Bloc accent helped us. She put the heavy
table-and-chair set into the van. We thanked Eastern Bloc gal, and then rolled home. No guy parked in front. And...
47 We had things, things, THINGS!!!
48 I was delirious. I couldn't WAIT to get everything outside and see how the yard would look. We watched sports and
Unsolved Murder shows, and I eventually drifted off.
49 I woke up on the couch, didn't want to make noise, found my headphones, put on this ten-hour you tube of chirping birds, along with a second that combined meditative music and thunderstorms, and drifted off.
50 I slept great, but woke up at around 6 a.m. to loud thunder. It was so loud and real that I decided to turn off the computer. I quickly recalled that you shouldn't be on a computer or a cell phone during a thunderstorm. I clicked on KCRA to see just how bad it was.
51 CRACK! Another crack of thunder, still louder. I assumed nobody was coming over, and that all dreams of yard work would run swiftly down the drain.
52 POW! BOOM! I worried about the babies, and if they might be scared and crying. I thought of Caitlin's cats, and worried about them getting disoriented by the storm.
53 And I REALLY worried about flooding. I pulled the headphones off and...
54 Silence. It was eerily quiet. I opened my social media
stuff to find that bombs had gone off in Manchester. I almost cried for all of it. I shook my head, angry at the perpetrators, sad for the young followers of Ariana Grande, and sad for the world.
55 I was no longer too interested in things anymore.
56 Everything got put into perspective. I heard Trump calling the perpetrators "losers." Nice bedside manner. The guy irritates me, but it wasn't about politics. It was about showing a little more dignity for a tragedy.
57 I won't go there. Students told me about Ariana, so I discovered her talent through them. And I thought of them, and of their parents, and my heart sank. I posted a single candle, wrote a few words, and launched it.
58 I still like the things I bought, and still had myself surrounded by wonderful things.
59 But for the morning, I could not help but think of how much that news took out of me.
60 A lot. Two words.
61 Gottago.
62 See you again.
63 Have a GREAT day. You can't make people who do things like that stop you, ever.
62 Thoughts and prayers to everyone who was affected by all of this. Stay strong.
63 Live life.
64 Love life.
65 Peace, and I mean that.
38 While eager to go up and grab that chair, I also wanted to get over to Caitlin's with the gift certificate, a smore's frappucino from Starbuck's, and a birthday balloon from the Dollar Store. They were out of Mylar balloon weights, but the gal behind the counter handed me some cheap strawberry body wash in a tiny bottle. She said I could keep it. So. We got it all, and looked forward to Caitlin's birthday morning.
39 Mission accomplished. I couldn't wait to see the Beebeez, and how they would react to a real live balloon. They don't see those all the time, so it was fun.
40 As soon as we walked in, the Beebeez came at us screaming and screeching, always my favorite part of the day. They jumped all over the balloon, and I kept saying, "B-b-b-ball-OOOOOOON!" Caitlin loved the gifts. No hurry on the chair. THIS was what life was all about.
41 After a goodly time, we decided we needed to get up to the Citrus Heights Tuesday Morning and pick up the Adorindack.
42 As soon as we got in, a gal who was going on her break stopped at the break-room door and asked us if we needed help. We described the chair, and she instantly got others to help us, and told us to feel free to keep shopping!
43 I LOVE things. We found a small Acacia/Cedar cart made by the same company that made the chairs, and it matched perfectly.
44 We THEN saw a five-piece patio table and chairs on the floor, but it was the last one, AND it had a damaged leg. They said they would sell it to us for 20% off. I looked at it and it looked a little too banged up. They called another store in Folsom, and they had some of those sets in stock.
45 We ALSO found three garden statues of two girls and one boy playing in a garden. All three had a few dents and bruises, but we figured we could touch them up and stick them around bushes and trees. This all became an adventure.
46 We got to the other store and this gal with a decidedly Eastern Bloc accent helped us. She put the heavy
table-and-chair set into the van. We thanked Eastern Bloc gal, and then rolled home. No guy parked in front. And...
47 We had things, things, THINGS!!!
48 I was delirious. I couldn't WAIT to get everything outside and see how the yard would look. We watched sports and
Unsolved Murder shows, and I eventually drifted off.
49 I woke up on the couch, didn't want to make noise, found my headphones, put on this ten-hour you tube of chirping birds, along with a second that combined meditative music and thunderstorms, and drifted off.
50 I slept great, but woke up at around 6 a.m. to loud thunder. It was so loud and real that I decided to turn off the computer. I quickly recalled that you shouldn't be on a computer or a cell phone during a thunderstorm. I clicked on KCRA to see just how bad it was.
51 CRACK! Another crack of thunder, still louder. I assumed nobody was coming over, and that all dreams of yard work would run swiftly down the drain.
52 POW! BOOM! I worried about the babies, and if they might be scared and crying. I thought of Caitlin's cats, and worried about them getting disoriented by the storm.
53 And I REALLY worried about flooding. I pulled the headphones off and...
54 Silence. It was eerily quiet. I opened my social media
stuff to find that bombs had gone off in Manchester. I almost cried for all of it. I shook my head, angry at the perpetrators, sad for the young followers of Ariana Grande, and sad for the world.
55 I was no longer too interested in things anymore.
56 Everything got put into perspective. I heard Trump calling the perpetrators "losers." Nice bedside manner. The guy irritates me, but it wasn't about politics. It was about showing a little more dignity for a tragedy.
57 I won't go there. Students told me about Ariana, so I discovered her talent through them. And I thought of them, and of their parents, and my heart sank. I posted a single candle, wrote a few words, and launched it.
58 I still like the things I bought, and still had myself surrounded by wonderful things.
59 But for the morning, I could not help but think of how much that news took out of me.
60 A lot. Two words.
61 Gottago.
62 See you again.
63 Have a GREAT day. You can't make people who do things like that stop you, ever.
62 Thoughts and prayers to everyone who was affected by all of this. Stay strong.
63 Live life.
64 Love life.
65 Peace, and I mean that.
~H~
fin.
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