Monday, October 28, 2013

I Am a Grumpy Old Man

My dear friend Martha e-mailed me the other day and said she is entering her curmudgeon years. She is taking the anti-drug slogan from our childhood and just saying "no" to anyone in her path. I think it has less to do with being a curmudgeon and more to do with being a bit wiser than we were twenty years ago.

I, on the other hand, am a grumpy old man. I have a sick kid - sick without answers - and it is making me grumpy. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make him all better. Instead, I boil beneath the surface when the doctor says everything is normal. You can take one look at him and see that he is most definitely NOT normal.

Also, the wind has been howling since last night and I want to howl right back. Instead, I stare out the window with a hot cup of tea and mourn the loss of each red leaf as it shakes and then falls from the pear tree out front. Everyone keeps talking about this beautiful fall weather we're having. If you have to wear socks, the weather ain't beautiful.

I think I am going to take a cue from Martha and just say "no." No to winter. No to sickness. No to doctors.

Hawaii, anyone?

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Who Says Customer Service is Dead?

Yesterday, the husband and I stopped by our local hardware store for some weatherstripping. This place is pretty cool. It's really old rustic inside and they sell just about everything you can imagine. It's like a modern-day general store. If you're lucky and show up at the right time, one of the owners will spew a wealth of knowledge about whatever it is you're looking for. If you're not so lucky, one of the high school kids will help you.

We got one of the high school kids.

He took us to the weatherstripping aisle, where as you might guess, you can find every type of weatherstripping known to man. I picked up a package that looked like it might fit our needs. We discussed it for a minute and then Dan asked our "helper" a question. After a long pause, he said, "What? Sorry, I zoned out there for a minute."

Perhaps we'll have better luck next time.