Oh, I Think So

In the city where she lived, good street parking was terrible in some areas and easy in others.  If there were more apartment-type buildings on a block or in an area, the parking was pretty ghastly.  Some areas, like her own, featured multi-tenant dwellings on two of the four corners of every block and houses everywhere else.  She was confident that no matter what time she drove off, when she got home there would be parking within a half block of her house. Her cousin's neighborhood had only single-family dwellings for blocks around and the lots were ample.  In other words, the parking was fantastic.  She always parked in front of the house next door to that of her cousin.  There were metal plates on each window, the hallmark of a house a bank owned that was now abandoned.  The bank had the lawn mowed, leaves all raked up, and the sidewalks kept clear.  The grinning face of a bald, bespectacled, middle-aged realtor smiled at anyone who cared to ...

Oh, I Think So and She is Where are vacationing this week. Please come back next week.

No matter what she wore, be it suit or frock or jeans and a shirt, her cousin and aunt would both find something wrong with it. "That dress is for a wedding," her cousin stated. "If you're the bride," said the aunt about a particularly nice dress she'd put on. "Why are you so dressed up?" they'd ask if she wore a suit.  "Trying to make everyone feel small?" She never made anyone feel small.  Her aunt and cousin had both been jealous of her since she was born because her cousin was no longer the special, first child and because her parents no longer babysat her cousin and showered attention on her.  Her own parents still included her in the family as if she were their own but the cousin, even as a small child, had gotten used to two sets of parents, three if her grandparents could be included.  When her own parents had died within a few days of each other -- one succumbing to cancer, the other to a broken heart -- she found out...

After the shower, she dried off, removed the shower cap, turned on the TV, and had a nap on her bed.  She awoke to full blown Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Years ago, she had a friend who was in the parade, attached to a float starring the late Shari Lewis, the creator of Lambchop and Charley Horse.  The people walking were all dressed a la Raggedy Ann and when they got to Macy's at 34th Street, Shari Lewis sang a song and they all danced around.  When it was over, her friend almost got separated from the rest of the Raggedy Anns except Shari Lewis came to her defense calling out, "Wait!  She's with us!"  Now whenever she happened upon the parade, she thought of her friend who now lived in Florida. She sat bolt upright in bed.  She needed another pair of ears and her friend might be willing to hear.  She put on her robe and slippers and entered the speed dial for her friend. As she usually did, her friend answered calling her by name. "I am r...

The alarm clock rang right at 6:00 a.m., as she'd asked it to do.  She further requested that it give her 9 minutes more of sleep.  She made this request four times and then admitting that the cranberry relish wouldn't make itself -- year after year it had refused to do so -- she staggered to the bathroom and turned the shower on to warm up the water. She lived in an older building with an older landlady with a total denial method of setting things like thermostats properly, or even fixing things, as in "That window is broken!  There is jagged glass and rain and snow can get in!  Here is a board that fits in the hole!  There is jagged glass but rain and snow can't get in as well!  Is it really broken?  Oh, look!  A leaf has landed on the grass and I must pick it up!"  Ten minutes usually did it for warming up the water and a year was about the right time for external repairs. Her landlady only hired people she knew and trusted but it was ...

She started spinning around in the parking lot, trying to spot the Giant, but the Giant was just not there.  She walked over to where she'd seen his car and it was still there.   This realization made her stomach do flips. What if he'd seen her and was following her?  How could he do that and not be seen?  He's a giant. What if he had a camera set up and was watching her that way?  Except where would the camera be? What if the camera were the store camera and he had hacked into the store's computer so he could spy on her that way?  Really?  Just to watch her ?  On a grocery store camera?  The giant wouldn't do that, she decided, but Handsome would.  Even if she didn't really know him, she thought that much about him was true. She spun around the opposite way, now looking for Handsome.  She spun around the other way and spotted a taxi dropping someone off to get their groceries.  They went out the right door and she...

The time up until Thanksgiving went a lot faster than she thought it would.  She managed to find a handbag online that was just what she'd been thinking about that offered free returns in case it wasn't what she really wanted.  It complemented the coat and cost less than what she'd budgeted. Everyone at work made a big fuss over her new coat. "Wow," said her manager.  "You look like you have a serious job instead of here, ha ha." "Ha ha," said her coworkers as seriously as they were able because they all knew they were some of the scruffiest dresser in the world.  They saw their clients every few years and dressed as best they were able then, spending any clothing budget for groceries, rent, and the occasional trip somewhere. "I'm going to San Francisco," said a guy who wore pants so old they had a shine to them who liked to spend on two things -- trips and whores. "Did I tell you?" asked the middle-aged accoun...