Random thoughts

January 29, 2020 – Random thoughts

         It was chilly so I decided to wear the “leggings” that only svelte young women should wear.  Yes they feel comfy and warm and I know better than to subject the general public to how I look in black leggings.  If a fashion policeman comes along, I will get a ticket for unusual punishment toward humanity.

         Having said that, I did get a kick out of being an Audrey Hepburn copycat – remember when she wore tight black pants and a top and did that iconic modern dance in Funny Face?  Yeah, that is who I was yesterday as I ran errands, right down to the flats – except I had a long sweatshirt duster over all of it as a redeeming feature.

         Randomly my mind raced as I went about my errands.  On the way to the trash dump [they quaintly call it a convenience center here in the county] a huge white double cab with dual wheels was right on my back bumper.  Now, it is a straight shot up HWY 64 and this chick (me) is heavy footed and he wanted to pass me?  Let him go – GOSH – he had to be doing 80 mph.

         One of those deceiving days – royal blue sky – bright sunshine – no wind, but cold as the dickens.  The view going up HWY 64 was spectacular seeing the distant blue ridge mountains on a clear day.

         On the side of the road I noticed a full size deer that had been killed by traffic.  Huge one compared to what I’ve seen in the past.  Poor thing.

         At the convenience center it was the grey-haired lady brigade.  There were three different elderly women wrestling their trash bags out of their trunks to get them in the green metal bins.  I smiled at each and nodded and they sweetly, in turn smiled and nodded back. I bet they were all widows, living alone, handling their lives alone.

         Me, being the youngest, I parked at a distance and walked to the bin – the rest were parked up close.  Yup, these were Southern Ladies, hair done, makeup, going to town clothes on, I bet if I’d gotten close enough – I’d have caught a whiff their signature perfume. 

         These were not the modern women of today with the torn jeans or faded yoga pants with their straggly hair tossed up into a “messy” pony tail loop over.        And, there was another huge, obnoxious pick-up truck parked beside the compactor for the recyclables.  Front fender almost half off, totally side swiped along the passenger side and the driver jumped in and back up haphazardly – without looking as I almost got run over carrying my bag of newspapers and magazines.  I had to side step gingerly to safety.  Heck one of my nine lives was gone now. 

         I noticed the occupant had tossed in four white trash bags full of plastic soda bottles.  Doesn’t he know that doesn’t help our recycling situation?  The recycle entity doesn’t want any plastic bags. He was supposed to open the bags and pour them in and then dispose of the plastic bags in the trashcan beside it.  UGHH!   Then they wonder why we can’t get decent contracts for recycling in this county.  Recycling – you either do it right or don’t bother doing it “half-assed” as my Dad used to say.

         During my travel from the convenience center to Staples where I had to fax proof that I’d been charged three times instead of once to an office in New York City to square away an account, I noticed two more beat up trucks – both white.  HMMM, wonder what is going on in this county that pickups look so bad – we haven’t even had our first snow yet.

         What an inconvenience – no longer having a fax machine – I had to depend on Staples and it took so long.  I finally left the store, went to a store 4 doors down and then came back to get my receipt.  The service fella said,

         “I know you waited 15 or 20 minutes, but just a minute after you left, the receipt printed out.”

         I told him, “That’s Murphy’s law.” 

         He was young and had a vacant expression on his face. I now wonder if he knew what Murphy’s Law is; is that another wonderful saying that has gone by the wayside. [Maybe so – originated around 1866 or 1877.]

         Then I did the Walmart stomp – Oh Gosh I hate it.  The line to the pharmacy was just about out the door – 50 people deep and I had to walk past all those sick people to the vitamin section for my husband.  He has to have the vitamins from Walmart whereas I go to the local health food store for mine in order that the local health food store stays in business.  There is a method to my madness.

         Surprise! It has been a long stint since I’ve been to Walmart – they now have metal “gates” that swing open as you enter the store.  Wonder why – as they are not secure – you can easily take a sharp right hand turn and go to the inside banking area and the service desk and then walk right through the checkout aisle in the middle of the store.  I’d call it half-assed security that isn’t “secure”.

         It is just another thing to remind everyone of the mass shootings raging across the United States.  Our church instituted police training measures for all our ushers. It gives me the comfort of safety as I practice my faith. We are a new flashy grey stone Catholic Church that can seat 500 parishioners, and a target among the other denominations. I feel it was wise move by our priest.

         Then, for a treat to myself for running these errands I swung by The Mighty Dollar for my weekly treasure hunt.  I was on a “hunt” for green beads for St. Patrick’s day – YES – they had them – you just wait for the surprise project I needed them for, see a future blog.  And, I did the “high top” cruise to see if there was anything new and unusual and by gosh, there was.

         The Mighty Dollar is one of those stores where they actually do get remnants or close outs on things.  At Christmas time I found “Bed, Bath and Beyond” labeled hand towels with initials on them. [Made for great Christmas presents.]

         Delightfully I found some modern, small heavy plates with matching bowls decorated with an avant-garde swirl of cobalt blue in the clear glass.  I snapped them up without hesitation.

         I got my “cheap thrill” for the day, a good day for a routine day in January.