A Day in the Life… #1
6:42 a.m. – I awaken to a mysterious, choppy, humming sound. After listening to the sound for a few minutes, I determine it’s a bevy of choppers from the local news stations covering rush hour traffic. There must have been a wreck on 288 or 610 because they were directly over the house. Slept on the couch after deciding at 3 a.m. it was time to sleep. I knew if I had went upstairs and gotten into the bed I might not have awakened until after 10 a.m. On the other hand, the helicopters woke me up so I would have probably still gotten up anyway. Not a really busy day today, but want to get a few things done that are needed.
7:32 a.m. – While still laying on the couch the spirit of procrastination begins speaking, “You haven’t really slept that well so let’s just go upstairs and take a quick 30 minute power nap just to get a good charge for the day…” Before I begin to listen to the voice, I get up and check the temperature outside by opening the front door. Crisp, cold air and for a change the air smells clean, no smog. Check AccuWeather on my phone and today’s high will be 51°. Today will be an all denim day because I don’t feel like wearing a jacket. Head upstairs to get myself together.
8:22 a.m. – Back down stairs and head straight toward the refrigerator. Grab a peach, two plums, an apple, and a bottle of sync Vitaminwater to sit down with and quickly view the headlines and stories of the day on the internet and random computer stuff before leaving. Nothing interesting going on in the news with the exception of a couple of stories that catch my attention involving a worldwide corporation and very ambitious dingbat. Stories of note involve Toyota now calling for a worldwide recall and Sarah Palin getting caught utilizing a hand teleprompter for questions she was given in advance (half smile appears on my face while shaking my head at the people who actually want her to run for President and win).
9:02 a.m. – Jr. calls me to see if I’d be home in an hour. Chop it up with him for about 5 minutes and then text Shannon to see if she wants to meet sometime today to iron out the details of our collaboration. She notifies me that she called in to work today and says she wants to meet in an hour at La Madeleine for some breakfast and tea. I agree to the time. Before closing the computer I quickly spend some time reviewing flight schedules and prices to New York City and Boston. Make note of some online deals, close the computer, and head out to meet Shannon.
10:12 a.m. – On my way to the desired location I notice Denny’s has a line out the door. I wondered why until I remembered today was the free grand slam breakfast day advertised during the Super Bowl. At La Madeline’s with Shannon where I only order a potato galette and tea because I was not hungry. We sit down and begin to brainstorm our ideas about our collaboration. After 45 minutes of discussion of our ideas, the topic switches to Shannon’s recent situation with her relationship. She discovered last week that her boyfriend of 2 years, whom she also lives with, has two secret children from two different women. My eyes pop out of my head and my mouth drops. She nonchalantly continues to explain that the two kids are 6 months apart in age and they are both under two years old. She also found out that he had a secret apartment a block away from where they lived where he would take various women when she was out of town. Shannon states that she’s done with the relationship and is already over it but she can’t seem to grasp how he got away with it for so long. We chop that up for an hour and then prepare to leave.
12:06 p.m. – Walking out of La Madeline’s finalizing our conversation in the parking lot when Shannon receives an e-mail. It’s the couple she contacted 2 days ago about buying a puppy letting her know that only two dogs were remaining from the original litter. She immediately calls the couple and confirms the e-mail message. She tells them that she is on her way. Hangs up and asks me, “Do
you know where New Ulm, Texas is?” I nod yes and tell her where it is. Her face for 2 seconds scrunches up like “damn” but it quickly leaves as she remembers what she’s going to get. She hollers out, “ROAD TRIP, come ride with me! You don’t have nothing else to do or a check to go collect so come ride with me it’ll be fun!” I pause to think for ten seconds about the rest of my day and finally decide, “Fuck it, let’s go.“
1:52 p.m. – After an hour and a half drive we arrive to the specified location in New Ulm. Turns out that the couple are retirees who live on a 25 acre ranch stocked with all types of livestock that they care for themselves with the help of a Hispanic family that lives on their property. They breed Yorkshire Terriers, Jack Russell’s, and Pomeranians as a hobby. Shannon wanted a Yorkshire terrier. The price tag for the Yorkies was $1,200 each. I couldn’t see myself paying that much for a dog but Shannon’s got it like that. The last two puppies were both girls and after seeing them and playing with, Shannon became emotional about separating the two sisters so she decided she’d buy both. The couple was really nice and in turn because of Shannon’s sincere concern about separating the dogs decided they would sell her both dogs for $1800. They complete the transaction via credit card and then ask us if we were hungry. We both look at each other as if we’re waiting on one of us to respond because the people were so nice we didn’t want to say no. The couple notices our reluctance to answer and adds that after lunch we were welcome to explore their ranch as long as we would like with their grandchildren who would be arriving at any minute. Shannon leans in and whispers to me, “Isn’t this fuck it day!?!” I reply, “I guess it is. We’re here let’s see what happens. They try some slick shit I got the burner on my hip.” We shrug our shoulders as in an “I guess so” motion and have lunch with the couple and their family who arrived as we were walking into the house.
2:32 p.m. – Sitting down to lunch with the couple and their family was very enjoyable and Brady Bunch like. Everyone sat at this huge, magnificent 20 seat dining table with food spread out as if it was Thanksgiving Day. For lunch was chicken fried steak, buttered corn on the cob, sweet peas, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and for those who didn’t want steak was baked chicken and rice. Shannon and I were like, “Wow!” The food was crazy and the family treated us as if we were one of them. We ate along with the couples six grandchildren who range in age from 22 to 13 years old. They told their grandparents any and everything that was going on with them while we were all eating. Some very interesting conversations took place at the table especially between the oldest 2 grandkids and the couple.
3:46 p.m. – Shannon and I think were leaving but the grandchildren say otherwise. They want to show us why they love spending time at their grandparent’s ranch. It was another “fuck it” moment for Shannon and I after we rationalized by the time we get back to the city it would be rush hour and neither one of us wanted to sit in that crazy I-10 and 610 traffic. We agree to stay longer. The grandkids take us to a barn filled with ATV’s, dirt bikes, and oversized supped-up go-carts. They instruct us to choose which we would prefer to ride and give us quick, basic lessons on how to ride our choices. I choose a dirt bike while Shannon chooses an ATV. To both Shannon and I’s surprise, the couple both jump on separate ATV’s and ride out onto the ranch with us.
4:02 p.m. – The youngest grandchild challenges everyone to race to the 1st destination. Everyone accepts. We all line up side by side in race formation with the grandmother beginning the race with the blow of her whistle. Shannon and I come in dead last because of our unfamiliarity with the machines but the 20 yr old granddaughter wins the race. The first destination is a this mini-motocross track the couple had built for the grandkids 12 years ago complete with high jumps, track crash padding, and ramps. I took it slow for the first 30 minutes but after that I was right with the grandkids jumping off the ramps and dirt mounds. I ended up switching to an ATV with the grandfather because of my feet. The couple was even jumping the mounds and ramps. Shannon couldn’t muster up enough courage to do the jumps but she did ride the straight aways at top speed when she could.
4:36 p.m. – We rode to the pool house and pond. The pool house was a two story, three bedroom structure the couple had built just for entertaining friends and family when out on the pond and at the swimming pool. The pond was manmade and huge enough to have a small little dock with a small fishing boat attached. The grandfather mentioned that he had the pond stocked with catfish and other varieties of fish for fishing out dinner occasionally and most times just to relax. It was a beautiful site situated toward the back of their property.
4:50 p.m. – The last few stops were at the horse, cattle, and bull pens. We also made the rounds to the different housings for their various livestock. The rest of the time was spent riding all over the ranch with the grandkids.
6:06 p.m. – Now officially tired and ready to go home, Shannon and I inform the family we are finally leaving and thank them for their gracious hospitality. Shannon obtains more detailed contact information from the couple who offer us food to take with us on the road. We decline, say our goodbyes, get the dogs, and make our way back to Shannon’s car. She tries to convince me it’s my turn to drive back to the city, but it doesn’t work. My reply was, “The guest passenger doesn’t drive. I did YOU a favor.” Her reply back was, “nigga” and we proceeded to spend another hour and a half back driving back to the city. The ride back was fun because I was occupied playing the puppies who were no bigger than my hand.
7:58 p.m. – Back at La Madeline’s to get my vehicle. Shannon and I salute each other, say our goodbyes and agree to call each other in ten days. She says she intended to have all her ex-boyfriends things packed today but now doesn’t feel like it. At that moment she decides the puppies’ names are going to be Sasha and Tasha. One will only wear red the other only pink. I nod my head in agreement thinking, “Very catchy names for a pair of dog sisters“
8:10 p.m. – I stop at CVS to get some pecan pralines, thumb tacks, and legal envelopes.
8:28 p.m. – Arrive home and check the mailbox. Bills, advertisements, and a check are the contents of my mailbox. The check is the fourth from this company in eight weeks. Did not expect to see more than two but I’m not mad at all. I’ll deposit it along with the other check on the dresser tomorrow. Do not feel like driving anywhere else.
8:35 p.m. – Grab two apples and a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Open up the computer and begin deleting email messages, archiving random ideas and thoughts, reading random news articles on the internet, and cleaning up old and unwanted files from my hard drive.
10:02 p.m. – Turn on the TV and check what is in the DVR. Look at a couple of Daily Shows and decide that I need to call it a night.
10:42 p.m. – Before retiring I decide to document the day’s events with this writing. It just occurred to me that pictures to go along with the words would have been a good idea. It never occurred to me at anytime of the day to snap pics. Oh well, maybe next time.
11:27 p.m. – No couch tonight. Head upstairs to the bedroom to shower and lay it down. Day officially over…
