It’s ALL ABOUT ME!

Christopher is playing summer-league American Legion baseball. The team is made up of Brewer players and the season is going pretty much like the regular season did. Sigh. All games are double-headers which makes for a long night.

Last night we played West Morgan at West Morgan. We lost the first game 10-9. Christopher played short-stop and did very well. I think he struck out once and had a couple of base hits. I’m not clear on this because at this point all the games are running together in my head.

Fast-forward to the second game. Christopher pitched and it was a good one…. he pitched well. We were up in the score, then down, then up. In the bottom of the final inning we were leading with a score of 5-4. We had 2 outs with the tying run on 2nd and the go-ahead run on 3rd. All we needed was one out and the game would be over

Christopher pitches and the batter hits…. it’s a grounder, and it goes BETWEEN THE LEGS OF THE 2nd BASEMAN. Game lost…. Christopher was DISGUSTED. He takes it so hard when they lose, especially when he’s had a good game.

SIGH…..

LA

Jennifer, Kelly, and I came home from Sue’s house today. The trip was pretty uneventful. We took a different route home. I did this for a couple of reasons: one, to see if it was quicker, and two, to see if it was better. On the way up, we took I65 to I24 to I57 to I90/94 to I43 to Sheboygan (I’m writing this from memory, so if I got one wrong, I’ll correct it later). On the way home, we took I43 to I90/94 to I65.

Here is the only true fact I can determine: the trip home was 34 miles shorter than the trip there. It was shorter in time, too, but that is not an accurate fact given that on the initial trip we went through Chicago at rush hour and on the return trip we went through Chicago at 7:00 a.m.

For the record, I cannot imagine why anyone in their right mind would want to visit Chicago, much less live there. Were the 34 fewer miles worth the difference in direction? In my estimation, yes. Why? It was a very good ride — no problems, no big changes in interstates to prepare for, and, once we hit I65 (in Chicago), it was a straight shot home.

On the downside, there were many more tolls on the return trip than on the initial trip. So what, I say! I like the return route better and will use it next time I go to Sheboygan. Of course I will do whatever necessary to avoid going through Chicago anywhere near rush hour. I thought by getting there at 3:00 in the afternoon that we would hit Chicago well before rush hour, but that was not the case.

On the trip home, I was prepared for the toll roads, because we had to go through them on the trip up. What I wasn’t prepared for were the additional toll roads we encountered by going through Indiana. It actually got quite comical.

We hit the first toll road and Jennifer dug $2.50 out of my change purse. She got $1.00 ready for the next toll, because we already knew what it would be. The toll after that was fifty cents. Fine. Jennifer dug another 2 quarters out of my purse. The last toll booth we came to was for .15. Yep, a big fifteen cents. I got a nickel out of the drawer in my car and asked Jennifer for the other 10 cents. She said ‘you don’t have 10 cents in your change purse — you are out of change’. YIKES! Out of change?!?! The hunt was ON!

I asked her if she thought she might have any change in her purse. She didn’t think so, but hunted on the floorboard for her purse to check. I was frantically searching all around for additional funds. We were almost at the toll booth — an unattended tool booth at that! We couldn’t use ‘real’ money (or ‘long dollars’ as Kelly used to call them) to pay the toll. I slowed down as much as possible trying to buy time. We could NOT find the additional funds, not even a thin dime. Not two nickels — NOTHING.

There were cars behind us. Panic was setting in. What was I going to do??? Would the basket accept pennies? Would we be arrested for trying to rob the State of Indiana for ten cents if we threw the nickel in and blew through the toll gate? Would I have to call Jim and tell him that we were stuck in Indiana because we couldn’t find a dime? What was going to happen to us?

Suddenly I had an inspiration and opened the armrest in hope that maybe something was there, and {hear the angels singing}… there was a precious dime! Hallaleujia! I counted the money in my hand and counted it again. Of course we were at the money-bin by now, so I very slowly threw the money in a coin at a time. I have never seen a more beautiful sight than the green ‘GO’ light that lit up upon acceptance of my offering! We were on our way home! Thank goodness that was the last toll booth we had to endure or we may still be in Indiana trying to exit!

I could picture us having to call Jim and tell him that we couldn’t come home because we had been arrested for stealing ten cents from the State of Indiana. That brought an entirely new wave of giggles to us and we laughed for quite a while down the road. Even now we laugh about it. Did Kelly laugh? Nope — you guessed it…. she slept through the entire thing!

Sue’s house is not conducive to sleep. It’s not completely her fault — we did stay up until 1:00 a.m. last night, er, this morning. Jennifer, Kelly, Caitlin, and I all slept in the living room. Poor Caitlin got sick at 5:00 and I got up to help her out and clean up. We were resettled by about 5:30 and ready to go back to sleep.

I was drowsy and just about to drop off when I heard what sounded like a herd of small elephants running through the living room. I sat up in time to see Fireball (Sue’s cat) galloping through the room.

I settled back down in the couch was was just about asleep when I heard Jennifer say ‘OH!’. I sat up and asked her what happened. She said “that cat just blew in my face.” I looked up and saw the cat sitting in a chair near Jennifer. I pointed to Fireball and said ‘how did that cat blow in your face?’ She said “no, THAT cat”, pointing to Norton. Apparently she trying to go back to sleep and Norton was sniffing her face and it scared her.

I decided to ask Jennifer to set her alarm clock so I wouldn’t sleep all day. She set her alarm for 8:30. I settled back down in the couch and was just about asleep when the herd of small elephants known as Fireball again tromped through the living room.

I settled back down in the couch and fell asleep. I woke to music. Some kind of weird music. It took me a minute to get my bearings. I thought it was Jennifer’s alarm on her cell phone. I got up and determined it wasn’t Jennifer’s alarm, but was Sue’s cell phone ringing. I opened the phone to see ‘Alarm 2′ whic was set for 7:30 a.m. The alarm on her phone was going off. I turned the alarm off and went back to the couch.

I settled back down in the couch and was just about asleep when I heard this very low ‘meow’…. ‘meow’. I sat up and saw Fireball walking into the room meowing a very low meow.

I settled back down in the couch and was just about asleep when Sue’s phone started ringing again. I got up and turned off ‘Alarm 3′. ‘Alarm 3′ was set for 7:40.

I settled back down in the couch and was just about asleep when Fireball jumped on the couch, looked me over, and jumped down.

Finally I fell asleep again. Not long later I woke up to ‘LeLe, you’re snoring!!’ Kelly was poking me to get me to quit snoring. I asked her to check the time. It was 9:06. I guess I slept through Jennifer’s alarm Time to get up! Sigh…….

A little while later, Jennifer asked me how I got up, that she had accidently set her phone alarm 3:30 a.m!!!!

We have been having the best visit with Sue, even though she just had surgery. We’ve watched movies, talked, laughed, and generally had great fun. Tonight we attempted to chase down the icecream truck to no avail. Then we returned a movie to Blockbuster and didn’t realize until we made it to the parking lot that we left the movie at home. Yep! Being in the silly mood that we were, we laughed and laughed. Caitlin, Kelly, and Russell have been getting along great. Kelly and Russell played a little batmitton this afternoon — I don’t know who won.

Not sure what all we will do tomorrow…. I told Sue that she was probably not getting the rest she should with us around. I’m trying!

I just got back from the hospital. Sue is doing well — and is a tad bit lighter! The surgery went fine and she should be able to come home tomorrow.

We had a mostly uneventful drive to Sheboygan. Jennifer, Kelly, and I left my house at 4:54 a.m. Of course the trip was LONG (~750 miles) and quite boring. It took us 2 hours to get through Chicago. Two hours!! What a nightmare. I did most of the driving with Jennifer taking over for a bit. Kelly snored most of the trip. That and showered. Yep, she showered. Wanna hear about it?

We were driving somewhere in the never-ending state of Illinois (which is better than the never-ending state of confusion I’m usually in). We were cruising with the windows down, sunroof open, and the radio on. Just girls driving and having fun.

Suddenly from out of the backseat, a McDonald’s napkin took flight, soared into the front seat, spun around the windshield, and dashed back into the backseat. It was all over in a matter of seconds. I said “where did that come from” and Kelly and I busted out laughing. Jennifer, having just taken a long drink of water, got tickled and was unable to swallow! She was getting distressed — trying not to laugh and trying to swallow the drink. I saw her look at the floor and, knowing Jennifer’s tendancy to get tickled and spew whatever is in her mouth everywhere, I said ‘do not spew that in my car.’ She lowered the window, leaned out, and projected the liquid from her mouth. Immediately from the back seat, I heard “GROSS!” Not a drop of water went out the window…. it all flew into the backseat and sprayed Kelly!!! She was wet all over! We all had a great laugh over it — even Kelly.

There you have it! All the fun details of our 14 hour drive. Hopefully, when we go home Sunday, the trip through Chicago won’t be as horrid.

Literally! Tomorrow Sue is going from a ‘DDD’ (or is it a ‘DDDD’???) to a “nice, perky” ‘C’. Jennifer, Kelly, and I are driving up there to assist her post-op during the weekend. Am I jealous of her transition? Nah…. just because she’s going down from a ‘DDD’, and I’m stuck at a ‘nearly B’, and just because she will now be perky and I won’t — what reason do I have to be jealous????

All kidding aside, GOOD LUCK, SUE! and… SAVE SOME FOR ME!

Yep… it was boat night last night. I will be at Sue’s house for the rest of the week and the weekend, so we took went boating last night. Jim and I (and Wilson) met up with some friends and boated and floated! The water was not too cold, but just right. The only thing that would have been better was to knee-board, but Jim left the board at home.

We had to tow a couple of young boys back. They floated by us (the current was strong last nigth) and hollered that they were out of gas. Poor things didn’t know where to tie the boat up for a tow or even how to turn the lights on and off! The boat was a very nice bass boat with different stickers that led me to believe it was “Daddy’s” boat that they were in. Wonder if they told “Daddy” they ran out of gas!

Wilson fell in — again. He is getting good at falling in! We tied a life jacket to a rope and let it float behind the boat. I like to float like that — tethered to the boat. Wilson didn’t understand the life jacked in the water — I guess he thought it was something coming to get us. The way he was barking and carrying on with his hackles up, you would have thought it was an alligator!

Since we didn’t get home until 11:30 last night, I am exhausted. Wilson didn’t even get out of bed this morning….. he slept in!

At the suggestion of my brother, I am submitting the following as a ‘front page’ post:

Over the years, I have come to despise WalMart. I mean truly despise it. As my brother pointed out, I was a charter member of the ‘I Love WalMart’ fan club! The store that was once great and mighty has gone way downhill.

For me, things came to a head last year, and because of that, I no longer patronize WalMart. November 9, 2004 was my last shopping trip to that great circus known as Wally World and I figure if I can go an entire Christmas shopping season without going to WalMart, then I can go forever. As I said in a previous post, it is a change trying to find things that you are just used to buying at Walmart, but rest assured that it can be done.

Here are a few of the main reasons that I have such a deep hatred:

1. Walmart steadfastly refuses to carry much Auburn apparel. They carry alabama and Tennessee (not even our own state) apparel, but limited Auburn items. I’ve called 1-800-WalMart to no avail. Just for comparison, Goody’s never carried Auburn apparel either. Once again, the choice was either alabama or Tennessee. (I don’t know WHAT clothing stores around here have about carrying TN sportswear…. it is sickening!) In a PR move, the CEO of Goody’s, Bob Goodfriend, was making the rounds to all Goody’s stores. At his visit to one of the Huntsville stores, I went specifically to tell him that we have 2 universities in the state of Alabama and that equal representation would be greatly appreciated. Mr. Goodfriend said “mark my words, you will have Auburn clothing in stock by football season.” Guess what — he kept his word! I tell all that to make the point that one person’s comment can make a difference

2. WalMart moves into communities that don’t want them. They bulldogtheir way in…. force themselves upon areas where they aren’t wanted.

3. They constantly move things around in the store so you can no longer find itmes in their usual place, but have to hunt for them. A marketing move, I know, but ridiculous.

4. They carry a product for ages and then suddenly stop carrying it. When you ask about it they tell you that the computer does all their ordering and there is nothing they can do about it.

5. You cannot ask them to stock items. They get what they are sent.

6. It is impossible to find anyone to assist you.

7. Their clerks are, for the most part, rude…. or at least uncaring.

8. This was the final straw: I was in the 10 items or less line behind a lady with 2 (not one, but two) buggies fullof stuff. When I found the manager and asked about it, I was told that they “can’t turn people away. That directive came down from corporate.” WHATEVER. That was November 9, 2004.

There are other things, but I cannot think of them right now…. When I do, I’ll update.

I watched a show on Walmart and their CEO was talking about how the customer is #1 and all important. I wanted to jump through that tv and choke him. What lies! Do they tell that to all their stores and all their ‘associates’??? Not from what I’ve seen! Calls to 1-800-walmart are dead-ends too….

Is it too much to hope they go out of business? I guess it is, but my part in the scheme (a mere drop in the OCEAN) is to avoid them and spread the word. It is unbelievable how many people truly detest WalMart but won’t shop elsewhere for a variety of reasons (price, convenience, etc.).

Since my hatefest started, I’ve done a little research into Walmart. Apparently the ‘associates’ are not treated very well. It is said that the communities pay the price for the ‘Low Price Leader’. Read Paying the Price at WalMart. There are other articles and information out there….

Stepping off soapbox…… for now!

We went to a friend’s house tonight to watch the Tyson/McBride fight. Ok, so I’m not much on fights… in fact, I hate them. Still, we went because we were invited, and, hey… it was Saturday night. To say I’m not much on fights is an understatement. I hate them. What’s the point? A couple of grown men punching each other…. I just don’t get it.

Still, even given my hate of fights, I got totally into it. It is my competitive nature, I suppose. I picked a side (McBride) and I stuck to it. I pulled for him and yelled for him almost as if I were watching an SEC football game. Almost, but not quite. It didn’t help that I was watching with people who were pulling for Tyson… I so wanted McBride to win, and he did. Of course I was elated. My side won! Tyson said something to the effect of ‘I’m playing to pay the bills’…. I maintain that he couldn’t take the heat and wouldn’t admit it. How could he admit that he was just weaker than his opponent? If he thought he would lose, he wouldn’t have even attempted the fight. Still, I’m glad he lost! As it turns out, I’m just too competetive for my own good.

You guessed it! It’s raining, and has been all day. There goes our river-run, but, to quote Christopher, it’s all good. Jim and I went to Tennessee to see our new niece (she’s beautiful), buy lottery tickets, and visit a friend. Not a bad day overall. We broke even on the scratch-off tickets and will have to wait for the Powerball tonight to see our next loss. Yes, I’m an optimist! HA!

I started re-reading ‘In the Wet’ by Nevil Shute. I read it years ago under duress. I say ‘under duress’ because Daddy wanted me to read it and just went on and on until I did. I flew threw the small novel skimming most of it. I must admit it was an odd story, but I was glad when I finished the book. Since then, my taste in books has changed and I recently decided to re-read the story and pay close attention to it. So far, so good. If you’ve never read it, it’s a good one.