July 13, 2001
"Fun Things"
But what matter? Finally we had a day in which we could set these things aside and enjoy fun things. Julia had her jury duty yesterday. Although it's a long trip to Florence, at least it gives her a break in the work week. She took the car as she doesn't ever know just when she'll be done for the day, and Laura and I were left to our own amusements.
And amuse, we did. We started the day playing Everquest. At first we got Laura's 'Shadowknight' Ebonangel up a level to seventeen. How striking she looked in her 'Tismak' armor, all red and gold and purple, setting her blue skin off to perfection. And how hard she hit the monsters, she's quite a character. I then was curious to see what my still twenty fourth level 'Cleric' Razhann would look like in 'Tismak', as he's such a vain and pretty High Elf. Like an angel, he looked, and he will soon have some of his own. For now, he borrowed Sanomy's set, and modeled while we took his picture.
like an angel . . .
Then we had a lunch break and watched our silly soap. 'All My Children' originally enticed us because Bianca, Erica's teenaged daughter, was dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a young lesbian. Now we're just rather hooked, being curious to find out what happens to the rest of the clan.
From there, a bit of clean up, and some pleasant frolic. Oh, how we need to make more time for frolic. It renews the spirits so. Our time was just perfect, Laura's happy sigh, and Julia came into the bedroom, home from jury duty early.
It's so rare the three of us are all home and not working or sleeping, preparing for working. Julia had heard of a small coffee shop called 'Coffee Creations' here in this mudhole of Casa Grande. Somewhere in the old section of town, she believed it to be. No need to check the phone book for an address, this town is so small, a tiny bit of driving, and we located it. Peaceful new agey flute music greeted us when we entered the little shop. A great variety of tasty things were offered, and I settled on 'Tower Of Power' cheesecake and a 'Cremora' raspberry soda. Julia got key lime pie, while Laura favored a carrot cake. We sampled each, and declared all tasty. I was surprised to learn they even host musical groups and poetry readings. Can it be, CULTURE in Casa Grande?
Well, this 'one horse town' IS growing up! We returned home, while Laura answered her email and I, having been inspired by a site about Mandalas, thought I'd get out pen and paper and try another. It doesn't take much to inspire a mandala, and it was fun!
'Red Planet' still awaiting us, last night we watched the surprising 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou', which featured three escapees from a chain gang in Depression-era Mississippi. I'd expected it to be full of dumb gags, but it was genuinely funny. The old timey music was enjoyable, as well. Laura and I smiled deep at each other, and sang our slightly revised version of 'You Are My Sunshine' to each other, as they sang the original version. That song has been one of 'our songs' nearly ever since we met, nearly fifteen years ago.
It was a delightful topper to a delightful day.
July 16, 2001
"Level"
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''How swell you felt at the disparaging
down on the humble ground
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July 18, 2001
"Baby!"
One thinks such superstitious things after an earlier sadness. Back in 1999 Cynthia lost a set of twins. Christopher and Sean were born and lived only a few minutes. There is deep sorrow over a thing like that. So upon the announcement nine months ago, I, in secret, only offered a wary prayer that this new being would progress as it should.
And it has. July 16th, around noonish, Cynthia gave birth to Samantha Dawn Lansberry! We get to see the momma and baby today. I will be bringing the camera, of course!
A Little Later In The Day . . .
She has the tiniest little fingers and toes, and she looks a lot like Cynthia
Anton selected her name, but it had to be one Cynthia's family liked. They definitely didn't like 'Aurora Danielle', Anton's first choice, so Samantha Dawn she is.
Cynthia looked a little tired yet from her labors, but Anton really glowed with pride as he gently held the tiny bundle. We are so happy for them.
July 20, 2001
"An Electrifying Experience"
But the door wouldn't lock! The little lever came out with the turn of the knob, but the doors could still be pushed open!
''Aaack-k-k-k! All alone in a pitch black unlocked store, I was not comfortable. Customers often ask if I get scared at night. I normally don't, but right now I was. The best thing I figured to do was wake the poor manager. She at least should have some clues. The particular branch doesn't sell big flashlights, unlike the store with which I'm more familiar. But, strangely, the computer monitor was still glowing in the office. Perhaps it was a breaker problem, and the manager could guide me as to where the breakers were and how to find the switches that needed flipping.
So, with the monitor light, I was able to read the list of phone numbers and see to dial them. The sleepy manager said it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. It was not a tripped breaker switch. The reason the computer was still working is it has a reserve power supply in the case of a power outage. This is to insure any unsaved important store files are not lost. The power was off, off, OFF.
It was off.
The manager was careful that I stayed on the phone with someone until that door could be locked. While I kept in contact with a night clerk at another store, she called the electric company and the police, so a police man would check on me.
It didn't take too long before the police man arrived. He showed me how to lock the door. There are two inset levers, on at the top of the door edge, and one at the bottom, which need to be pulled to stabilize the door. With it stabilized, the lever of the other door would keep them securely shut.
Whew! You must understand, this is a store that NEVER CLOSES. We can't be blamed if we don't know how to lock the doors. There is so rarely an occasion on which to lock them. You can bet I'll not forget now. Whew! The policeman went around the outside of the store, to see if there was an breaker box outside. No such thing. He'd heard power went out in the mountain, as well.
But the strange thing was, I could look on the still brightly lit drugstore across the street. Apparently, the dividing line was right down the middle of the street.
The manager advised I call one of the night clerks at another store, who has had fifteen years experience, and must no doubt have faced an outage before. He just advised putting a sign on the door ''Closed, no power, sorry'', and setting a chair ten feet from the door and parking myself until the power went back on. The electric company had said it would be one to four hours before I'd have power.
I could be sitting quite a while.
So I parked and waited. The only sound I could hear was the periodic chirp of the back up system. Time goes so slowly when you're waiting. I called Laura to see if the power went out at home. If it had, she would have been awakened by the sudden silence of our gray noise maker (which also serves as an air purifier) and the climbing heat caused of a no longer working air conditioner. The power must have not gone out, for she didn't hear the phone ring. I called the drugstore across the street for a time check after what seemed a long time.
No one tried to stop by. A couple of customers called on the phone to see if we were open, but the rest just drove on, upon seeing the darkened store. One truck came through the parking lot, and I wondered if it was the 'donut lady' who brings the fresh donuts and takes away the stale ones, as it was about the time she usually comes. Later, I learned it was her, and she simply returned to our store when the rest of her deliveries had been made.
Finally, I begun to get used to the darkness, and then began worrying about the perishables in the coolers. Would the sandwiches and milk still be good after four hours? With the doors shut, perhaps the coolness would be sufficient. My nerves just started settling down, when, with just as great a shock, the lights all came back on. It felt as though the electricity shot threw me.
It was suddenly a noisy place again, with the whirring of the ice maker and various other machines. Strange, this shock was like abruptly coming off of anesthesia. My nerves felt oddly raw.
Then, the tasks called. I took the cold, shrivelled hot dogs off the grill. It was time to clean the grill anyway. Then 'stock and lock' the beer cases. And replace that nasty chilled coffee. And . . .
. . . back to business as usual.
Whew!
July 21, 2001
"Only You Can Know"
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What would you think you get
Oh, you know how miserable
But how to gain that clarity,
Now toys are good,
Now deligence in a task is good.
Have you ever stopped to
And, look, you have not robbed banks.
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July 25, 2001
"Nobody's Perfect"
And, boy, do I know I'm not perfect. It's only been a year and a half since we got our red Chevy, and the scratchs I've put on it, oh, it's a shame. I often miscalculate the space needed to get the car out of the driveway, as it passes through the gate. Yesterday, I screwed up big time. When I went out to take Julia to work, I found Laura had parked the car in an odd position. Odd positions require all sorts of new calculations to maneuver it out onto the street. Have I ever mentioned I'm not good at anything remotely resembling mathmatical type calculations?
I did not allow enough room to turn the car around, and I found the car was backing into the fence. Well, damn, I stepped on the gas pedal as hard as I could, trying to move the car forward. Only, to my great puzzlement, we were only ramming ourselves HARDER against the chain link fence! Why was this?
I finally quit pressing on the gas pedal. It finally occurred to me, after I'd shoved the fence into a leaning misshapen thing, that the REASON I KEPT HITTING THE FENCE HARDER WAS I WAS IN REVERSE!!!.
I felt so completely and unbelievably STUPID!
So, I've been reminded once again of my 'imperfections'. It was an humbling experience that I and the car could have done without.
So, in this humble state, perhaps I can be kinder to our old internet service provider. They recently made some changes to their system, and neither Laura's nor Julia's email would work. Laura spent an intense morning with their support person, which wasn't very fruitful. She cancelled our accounts with them, and found a new service provider, whose system doesn't seem to be fraught with all the problems the old one did.
And there was another reason Laura, in particular, wasn't especially enamored of the old provider. They would always include Bible tracts, or at least Biblical quotes in their billings. The proprietor has another job as a preacher at a local church, and he just can't quit PREACHING.
I just can't quite understand the mindset of those who feel compelled to cram their religious beliefs down the throats of others who are not willing participants. Of course, I realize that certain of these people feel compelled to save the souls of all they believe are bound for a 'Christless eternity in hell'.
But, still, this is not really excuse enough. It is certainly not a peaceable way in which to live. In our household, the three of us have a diversity of views on spiritual matters. Laura, as one might suspect, regards me to be 'of a gullible' sort, as I do embrace a fascination with mystical matters. Never mind, I just do my own thing, and she does her own thing, and we get along fine. That's how it should be.
Why it can't be like that in the larger world, I'll never know.
Oh, by the way, all the old pages at casagrande.com are defunct now. Hopefully, all of you have changed your bookmarks by now.