I spoke recently with a woman I know who was planning a trip to Cuba to see their daughter who is doing a grant-study program there. She was worried about the hurricane conditions in that part of the world and was concerned they might need to cancel the trip. We talked a bit longer and I asked if her husband smoked cigars and if he did, could he bring some back with him.
She said that no he doesn’t smoke them and even if he did he couldn’t bring any out of the country. Against the rules. Then she said, “But I smoke them from time to time.” I like that. Another woman I know, my sister-in-law in fact, took off with friends recently from the Memphis Airport in route to Manhattan. The last I heard was they were diverted to Syracuse because of snow. Weather everywhere these days it seems.
The weather was perfect though as I left last Sunday for a seven-hour drive to Chattanooga, where we have another paper, the Hamilton County Herald. Following me on the journey was my friend and co-worker Susanne Reed, who is moving to the Scenic City to take the job as GM at the paper. Thanks Susanne and good luck, we’re all rooting for you.
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Speaking of weather, someone brought up the 2000 ice storms the other day. At the time we were living over in the middle of town, off Cantrell We ended up being one of the few houses on the street that didn’t lose power, which made us very popular with the neighbors. It was fun that first night, but four days into it no one was smiling much. The next time we moved it was to a house further west, where we lived for a year and a half. The first six months we were there I was driving a ten-year old Toyota Camry. It was funny but no one in the neighborhood ever waved at me in that car. Not that I wanted them to especially, I mean I wasn’t waving at them so why should they throw their arms in the air just because I was driving by?
And I never would have noticed their non-waving if it hadn’t been for my next car - a big old black Cadillac, that I bought from my brother-in-law, who gave me the brother-in-law deal. He said it was a great car and that he was only selling it because he was getting a company car. Sounded good to me. He had bought the Cadillac from his mother-in-law, who was also getting a new car. She also said it was a great car. I began to get cold feet, thinking that if it was such a great car then why were so many people getting rid of it? But I bought it anyway. To be honest, I felt a little weird driving it at first, but that soon wore off and I grew to love it, even if it does require premium gas.
A funny thing did happen when I drove that car though. I noticed immediately that the neighbors on my new street had suddenly become very friendly. They were not only waving now, they were doing it with exuberance. And as I slowly drove towards my steep driveway each day people would even come out of there front doors, or from there back yards, and give me the biggest wave of my life. But all good things must end and we eventually moved to where we are now, even a little further west. And though I never met any of those people in the old neighborhood, I sure do miss their waves. Sometimes I will take the long way home and drive down that old street, to see those old potential friends, and get some good waving in. It always works, as long as I’m in the Caddy.
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Thoughts for today:
1. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?”
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
2. Is there another word for synonym?
3. Where do forest rangers go to ‘get away from it all?’
4. How do they get deer to cross the road only at those yellow road signs?