Mornin'

So what's new?  The weather has been really good for working outside.  Finally, we have a chance to enjoy the yard again -- other than the head congestion and sniffles from allergies.

I have absolutely no idea what to write about today.  I went to the class reunion committee last night and just feel completely pooped.  My brain is fried.  I had restless legs last night in spades.  But here goes a small recollection of the day.

Here's how it all started out.  Rt. 21 to Rt. 18 was good, uneventful.  Even Rt. 18 to Rt. 71 was pretty good.  But very early on Rt. 71, I espied something in the corner of my eye, from my peripheral vision.  It was a spider dropping down on a web from the roof of the car down past the window to the door handle. 

Right there, I almost lost it.  I had to calm myself in order to concentrate on the road which at the moment was all but deserted, thank you God.  The whole rest of the way my eyes were divided between watching the road and watching to see where the spider went.  This continued on and on and there was no place to stop and do anything about the dumb thing.  I spent about five minutes driving with one hand and fishing in my coat pockets with the other in order to find a Kleenex (or in other words, a portable insect disposal device).

So I get to my sister's house in Westlake, gingerly pull the door handle, thought I saw something dart across the back wall of the handle assembly, and I stood there like an idiot -- opening and snapping shut the handle.  I was hoping the spider would come out and my little Kleenex would be enough to take care of the problem.  Oh, he came out all right, but as soon as I closed the handle in order to get to him, he'd jump back in there again.

Did I tell you he was one of those jumpy little spiders that just kind of hops around?  That's what I don't like.  I don't like calm spiders either but jumpy ones are very, very bad.  So my sister who is now 81 comes to the door wondering what on earth I'm doing out there snapping the door handle over and over.

She came out, opened the door handle, held it open and used my Kleenex to brush the spider out.  I didn't see where it landed and that's never good because you HAVE to see where they are at all times, squish their bodies good and flat, and then you know that the threat is past.  I had no such closure but figured the crisis was over.  That was -- until we were in the house and I was having tea -- and about a half hour had gone by.

I saw something out of my peripheral vision again, this time higher up -- on my BANGS.  It was the spider again, it was in my hair, and I jumped up like an crazy person frantically brushing my hair with my hands.  This time I saw it land on the floor and my sister came over and stepped on it.  NOW maybe I could enjoy my visit for five seconds without some other drama.  And indeed, that was my last brush with drama during the visit but it makes for a good story, doesn't it?  Can't you just see me being nuts over a spider probably a quarter of an inch long if that?

Well, that arachnid picked the wrong car to sneak into and he paid for it. 

So that's that.  I did think of something to write about after all.  I'm grateful for the chance to be with my classmates, and I'm grateful for safe passage back and forth.  When we were talking yesterday, I told my sister that I would never want to go back in time and relive anything, but if I did, one thing I wish I could do is appreciate my classmates more.  They are special folks!!

Take care.

Karen