8:45 p.m. I’m in the parking lot waving my arms and jumping up and down to get the attention of the approaching tow truck. The driver sticks his head out the window.
“Stuck, huh?””
“Stuck.” Stuck indeed. Stuck with no dinner and no yarn. Stuck.
“Well you’re jumping all over the place and you’re smiling so it can’t be that serious.”
While en route to my sister’s house I got caught in the traffic puddle that is Berkeley. Oop, here’s University Avenue. Everybody slam on your brakes and look around. You might see a hippie.
Stuttering along in stop and go traffic makes the mind wander. You’re not traveling physically so you may as well take a mind trip. While looking out at the sloshing bay and regretting the 20 ounce cup of tea I downed on the way, my mind bounced around all over the place. Here’s where it took me.
Zombies have been snacking on my brains. You know all those movies about people with long term memory problems? I have the opposite problem. I know who I am and where I live, I remember doing the dishes this morning and what day of the week it is. I just can’t figure out what I’ve done with the peanut butter to save my life.
Yesterday I took my car in for its 90,000 mile check-up. I had a $199 coupon that I had been saving for this event on my frigerator door. Not that I'm so naive to believe that I could get in and out of the mechanics for $200 when I have 90k on my car. I was expecting $500. That seems to be the standard price for sneezing in an auto shop. Turned out to be $813 by the time I had to bail my car out at the end of the day. Apparently I needed new brakes, front and back. Ouch. It's not that I bad, I tell myself. At least I got out for less that $1000.
