the boys in dark blue

On Sunday, a call went out over the scanner for all available fire and rescue personnel to join the search for a 17 year old mentally challenged insulin dependent young lady who had been missing for several hours.  she had last been seen walking beside the highway, and then she vanished.

the search crews stayed out all sunday afternoon and night.  by morning, they still hadn't found her and all of us were holding our breaths, afraid that the outcome was not going to be a good one - especially since she had done without her insulin.  the sherrif's dept. called DOC and requested that the PERT (prison emergency response team)  join in the search, and they did. by 11:00, things were looking bleak.  by 12 noon, jan in first aid told us - the PERT team had found her, and she was ok.

what a relief for everybody!  we all let out a collective sigh and then we all felt this surging PRIDE for our guys in dark blue.  they did it!  THEY did it!  the officers who never get counted as real officers, the ones who do SUCH a service to the community that goes virtually unrecognized and is so seldom even seen by the public - OUR guys found her.

God bless 'em all - i have always been proud to work with them, but this...we could all just burst with it.

GO PERT!!!!

i HAVE to go to the Pub!

She's coming to O'Donnell's Pub, and I have to be there - I HAVE to, because it is the first poetry workshop available in this area since Methodist College 100 years ago, and NOW we have the chance to study for 2 hours with Joanna McKethan, regionally and nationally recognized poet!  I cannot, will not SHALL not miss this.  Just look at this excerpt from the local paper -

Dreams are great, you say, for nighttime but I say dreams are spit and fiber spun and thrown like spider webs, filmy filament that sticks mid-air, catches and holds tight enough for you to climb, run, nest your babies on, and yet -- still make it there."

This segment is from "Of a Substance Strong Enough," a poem by highly-acclaimed North Carolina poet, Joanna McKethan.

No, cannot shall not will not miss it.  One of the perks of being 40-something is, there's no excuse for not doing what you absolutely want to do - if you miss out, it's because you didn't let it happen.  And so, it looks like in my impending old age, it's time to grab opportunities, let what isn't working go - time to kite the soul, cut the strings...and fly.

strange new territory

and so i took the plunge, as far as my little side independent sales rep goes.  i signed up to be an e-representative, which means people can find me and place orders with me.  well, i didn't think anything would come of it, and was a trifle concerned about the 7.50 i pay for the service when BAM!

two new contacts in one day.  and one of them left a phone number, which i called, and son of a gun, i have a new customer.  YEAH!

if i seem a little excited, it's because i am.  it's the first opportunity i've really had to utilize my business admin degree and put anything i studied to practical use - if you don't count the courses in organizational behavior (which have been an immense help in the prison system).

and...it was a good thing to have happen after this past week. nothing bad happened to me, it was watching bad things happen to other people...and you wish you could help and can't.

maybe this new little side business will help in obtaining my get-out-of-jail-free card.

hope you all have a lovely, lovely weekend.  just think..fall is almost here.

stopping in for a visit

i don't make it by much, lately.  life has been utra-busy.  mom has been sick, the avon business has been taking time, have been finalizing vacation plans and making lists of things that have to be done before october 7. it isn't so far away, when the days go by as fast as they have been.

it's so odd. for a long time, my time was my own and seemed to drag like Marley's chains.

and so, with all the hustle and bustle, i managed to catch a cold.  nothing major, mind you - probably what mom had.  but i had gotten the robitussin bottle down and apparently forgot to put it back in its proper place, and jim saw it.  while i was taking a nap, something amazing happened.

that man i could throttle 10 times a day for various reasons did something that stopped me in my tracks.  because i was feeling bad, he made my favorite dinner.  he lit a huge cylinder of a candle and planted it in the middle of the table.  he escorted me to the dining room, and when i stood stock-still in disbelief and delight, he grinned like little boy.

there is much to be thankful for in this world, and i see more and more that these small things, and beeswax cylinders spiking like roman candles from my dining room table, are not so small, after all.

getting all excited

it was a fast week.  i sent in my first order as an independent avon representative and it came back pronto.  one of the great things about selling at work is - once the ladies got a look at the tote ms. phillips in x-ray ordered, they all wanted one just like it!  and while i was sitting at my desk yesterday, minding my own business, an officer walked in, strode over to my desk, flopped open the current catalog and said - i want two of these, and two of these.  you could have knocked me over with a feather.  men don't usually order from me.  and then they started on the bath oil!

so business has been pretty good so far.  we went to quewhiffle's (pronounced Q-whiffle) for dinner on wednesday night, and i took all my new business stuff with me.  i ended up with three new customers, just by waving a brochure around and handing out a few samples.

and now, no more shop talk.  quewhiffle's has been the community restaurant for twenty years.  it's also direct competition for my brother's business, but there's an air of community there that you don't find anywhere else.  it's like having dinner with everybody in the neighborhood.  we sit and chat with other diners, savor doris's famous potato casserole, and just have fun. it's a great place to spend an hour.  the other night when we were there, doris and the other waitress came to our table carrying a HUGE slice of fresh-from the-oven cheese cake drizzled with raspberry sauce and said - try it!  you'll like it! it's on us tonight.  and we certainly did like it. 

off on another topic - quick silver, here.  my granddaughter, sara, is here for the weekend.  she's three years old, and i had no idea she was a girlie-girl already.  she wanted her nails done.  well, i let her pick the shade, but when i started applying it for her she balked.  No, not that one! 

why not, sara?  she pointed to her blouse.  it doesn't match.

good heavens. so we picked a shade that matched, and later, as she was parading around in every bracelet, necklace and watch that i own, she informed me that she liked pearls best, and planned to take mine home with her.

remember playing dress-up when you were a kid?  it's just as much fun reliving it vicariously through your grandchildren.  :-)

and now, i must go prepare "penny cakes" with syrup for her breakfast.  y'all have a great weekend.

i was wondering what on earth i would do...

with allll that extra money that would be left from our brand new 5.5% raise.  vacation?  shopping?  sock a little bit back for the future?

silly me.  there was no need to speculate.  the first substantial raise in 4 years is going directly into gas tanks all across north carolina.

but there is a positive side to everything..at least we have that little extra to offset what we have to pay at the pump, but...will this never end??

tax free weekend

not sure how it is in other states, but in north carolina we have a tax free weekend back to school blow out.  the 7% sales tax is waived for 3 days on clothing, computers, all back to school items and for some odd reason, the tax is also waived on wedding gowns and girdles.  it's true.  i read it in the paper.

and so i ventured out to my favorite shopping spot to take advantage of all this, and i was a little surprised.  the printer paper that was normally an every day low price of 2.50 per ream was now 3.12, but it had a big yellow sticker on it enticing- buy this item tax free!  and so it went with other items.  their normal low price was jacked up 30%.

what a bummer.  i didn't take the time to price everything, but watched as people loaded their carts to get their 7% off the newly implemented 30% increase and shook my head.  another trap.

i'll wait for the after christmas sale, myself. 

aren't saturdays great?

the heat DID break somewhat.  people and animals got a break from the brutal stuff.  the other day, i was on my way out to check on Hey You and Spike, who apparently had a plan.  the moment i cracked open the front door, they bumrushed me and i didn't have the heart to put them back outside.  since i was the only one home, i told them - if you don't tell anybody, i sure won't.  they seemed amenable to that idea, and i let them stay inside for the rest of the afternoon.

today, i did absolutely no house cleaning.  i spent the morning responding to a journals, trying to get caught up.  and then i wrote a short story, which has some potential.  when i get the bugs ironed out and do some serious tweaking, i'll post it here.  and you are reading one of the newest avon representatives in the state of nc, so the rest of the day was spent trying to complete the online training.  that doesn't go quickly when you're on dial-up.

tomorrow, it's back to the grind - laundry, dusting, etc.  but i simply took today and enjoyed it.  i can hardly wait for my october vacation.  an entire week to write and play.

have a great rest of the weekend!

wilting at the keyboard

it is 97,000 degrees outside.

the best place to be on a day like this is inside and nekkid, under the ac if you have it, a tall glass of iced tea with lemon within arms reach and a buffet of sandwiches, cool and creamy fillings beside that.

on the bright side, tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s.  must be one gollywhopper of a storm coming in tonight.

somebody stop me...

it happened again.  i was at work, minding my own business when renita came over the intercom system unit-wide and said,

"today only, rehab and horticulture will be hosting the august plants and crafts blow-out sale, from 10:30 til 3:00."

didn't pay it much mind, at first.  and THEN algene stopped by, looking for a place to store her eucalyptus tree until closing time.

i have wanted one of those for years, so i squealed - where did you GET that?!

"at the rehab sell!" she bubbled.  "if you want one, you'd better hurry.  they didn't have many left!"

i cast a glance at the boss, who said - GO!  get me one too!  and so i zipped to the long building, hoping i had enough money in my pocket to cover hers and mine.

roxie was there, waiting for her next sales victim.  "QUICK!" i panted - it was like 110 here today, and the long building is a good trek away from the prison - "where are the eucalyptus trees and how much do they cost???"

my god, there were 2 left.  roxie had 1 for $1, the other was 50 cents.  she had no change and neither did i, so i snapped up the trees, and bought 2 more plants - a huge jade plant that looks more like a bonsai tree, and a big begonia.  all for $3!

the good news is, my paycheck should be gone soon.  and then i'll HAVE to stop.