The Smuggler

Last night in a dream I tried and tried to come up with a name for a short story. I finally decided on "The Smuggler". Now all I have to do is come up with a story. (too bad I woke up so early.)

Change in the air

I sense fall in the air. I sense adventures on the horizon.

Making friends

This morning while Annie B and I were taking a walk, a crow dropped a walnut on my head. When I told Irene, she said I should go back with a hammer and break walnuts for the crows to eat. She said then the crows would be our friends, follow me home, hang out with us.

Of course no one in our house is in their right mind at the moment.

Pain scale

When we were checking Irene into the ER room earlier this week the advance guard said to her,
"On a scale of 1 to 10 what's your pain level?"
Irene: "5"
Later in the waiting room I said, "Don't ever say 5 again or you'll never be seen."
Irene: "What should I say?"
Me: "7. Always say 7."
During the next 30 hours while waiting in a hospital bed for a surgeon Irene said "7" every time she was asked about pain and they'd adjust her meds accordingly.
36 hours later when she was waking up in recovery after surgery the nurse said, "How old are you?"
Irene: "7".
Me: "No, she's 68."
Irene: What, are you trying to get me killed?"

Virgo

Earth sign.

General Hospital

We've spent the better part of this week at our local hospital. Seven hours in ER, then 30 hours with Irene hooked up to drips and pumps and gadgets that beeped a lot. She waited more than 2 days for "emergency" gall bladder surgery. Finally last night at about 10 PM they removed her "bad" gall bladder and we hope she'll be released today.

And we managed the whole event with only a couple of near fisticuffs with the "charge nurse". We asked the 1st nurse (after 24 hours) if she had any time when surgery would be. She called for reinforcements and hence the "charge nurse", or Nurse Rachett as we fondly call her. When we asked her the same question about time she went ballistic.

"If this is inconvenient to you, if eating is more important than your health, (?) if you haven't learned by now that waiting is part of the plan. There are sicker people than you, you know." By then everyone was upset. Nurse R. said, "well, if you're going to be mad at me, I'm out of here. And your surgery will be sooner or later!" With that she was gone.

Everyone has said I must file a complaint. I must! So I started thinking how I'll write this long articulate letter with all the details, send it off. Then I started thinking, What if one of us ends up having surgery again sometime? What if we end up on 2 West during the 2:30 PM shift? What then?

"Steve"

Flea market find. The guy I bought it from says its name is Steve. Somehow we don't see it. We're considering a name change. Any suggestions?

Subtle connection

I was born the same year the corn dog was invented.

Just Wondering

Did you ever wish you were in the desert on a winding dirt road eating Bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread and the radioactive shriek of classic yellow French's Mustard dribbles down the front of your t-shirt and you think, oh well, this is the desert and nothing matters? Me too.

A time and a place

Okay, now it's time to get serious.

Nuts and bolts

I started out looking for a hinge. But it turns out I've got a screw loose. Now I'm stuck with a passel of hinges and I'm looking desperately for the directions. And I've got the Planning Department breathing down my neck. I'm telling you, if it's not one thing it's another.