Silly side note: Last night when we arrived home I saw 3-4 ants on the kitchen counter and thought: “How nice. Usually we have ants at least once during the summer. This year has been good”. This morning I woke to discover rivers of ants at the dogs’ kibble. I don’t mean trails, I mean rivers. Three rivers leading to each bowl. L Not a pleasant detour to deal with first thing.
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Fortunately I had taken today off as an additional vacation day. I figured time might be needed to recover from the past intense week. Understatement! I spent the morning dealing with first of the month bills, phone calls, other issues, and sore muscles!!! Doc went on line and investigated new pickup trucks and then went for coffee.
Doc wanted me to accompany him to Starbucks, but I wanted to use the air conditioned house to deal with things before it got so hot we would have to vacate. I should have gone with him. He returned with a stash. His words: “I found a penny buried in the dirt when I put in my order. Then there were coins sprinkled everywhere as I approached the window. I gathered 3 quarters, a dime, a nickel, and a penny there.” (Coins #1-7) Hit for the Cycle at the window!
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We worked at the house until 3:30 when the heat was too much. Went to the Goodwill Store to donate some of the items from the cabin cleanup. The previous cabin owners had left lots of things behind and it was time finally to Share them with others. J I found a nickel at the loading dock which the deckhand kept walking past. I picked up the nickel and was told that was shoplifting. So I gave him a nickel from Doc’s pocket and kept the found coin. (Coin #8)
We went to school for a few hours this afternoon to avoid the heat at home. Doc organized some of the boxes he had hurriedly packed when he moved offices a year ago. I typed my notes from Days #252-254 of Penny Tales.
We stopped at McDonalds for dinner. Doc got a McDouble and a salad, I got two pennies (Coins #9&10).
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At 7:30 we went truck shopping. Stopped at one dealer, but weren’t excited about the selection on the lot. Drove to Ontario to the Toyota dealer there. Surprisingly we enjoyed the salesman and the test drive! The truck had power windows and locks, the dashboard has lights at night, and there are all sorts of fancy features! I just want a basic truck! Don’t they make a truck with push down locks, metal key-fits-in-the-door entry, roll down the windows, etc.? What ever happened to Keep it Simple?
On the way home we stopped at a 7-11 to fuel the van. I think I was making the cashier nervous by approaching the counter from several directions to see if there were any coins under the counter. I spotted one, but it was deep and right where the line of customers was waiting. I waited until a customer somewhat paused to look enquiringly at me, then smiled, dove, retrieved a dime, flashed it, dropped a business card and said “today is Day #255” as I was leaving. Found a second dime on the way back to the van. (Coins #11&12).
Total for the day: 12 coins Q (3), D (3), N(2), P (4) = $1.19
Double hit for the Cycle.
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I’m sitting here with no title for today’s story and no Lesson. I’m asking the Angels “What is the point in people reading today’s Tale if there is no lesson? Certainly they don’t just want to hear a “debrief” of my activities.
Lesson: Keep Things Simple. We don’t need fancy prayers, rituals in churches, ceremonies and trappings (like the fancy cars have). We actually need only basic transportation to get from point A to B. You might take a direct path or the scenic path to get there. It can take you a short time or a long time. It won’t matter if you arrive on a bike or in a limo. The important thing is to know your ultimate destination and make your way there as best you can. And it doesn’t hurt to bring a friend or two along for the ride.
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