I have fallen into what I would call a
"Blogging Quandary"
First, I am a week behind and I had plans, real plans to combine my "Disastrous Thursday" with "Aesop's Tuesday" with "Blossoms & Bonne Wednesday" in a wonderful summary using quotes from that famed Fablemaker: Aesop.
The problem?
Aesop will NOT cooperate!
He has some quotes that fit EXACTLY with what REALLY happened on my "Disastrous Thursday" but I am going to write an abridged version of the day not the entire thing, because, really - there are some things that are just not blogable.
So this quote?
It tempts and torments me on HOW PERFECT it is ... so last night I threw in the towel in the wee hours of the morning and decided that the combined Aesop's version was just not going to do ...
Not at all.
Thus I will blog about my Aesop's Tuesday and then on to another post to finish up ...
Tell me - isn't that the MOST ADORABLE pop up in a Pop-Up Book ever? It is an Aesop's Fables Pop-Up book that is to DIE FOR ...
(So don't tell Gary it will be on our front porch tomorrow ...)
Yes, if you can read AT ALL you will already know what this post is about.
Now - can you guess who is the Hare in this Scenario?
The Tortoise?
If you can read AT ALL and have read ANY of my posts you should have somewhat of a clue ...
Tuesday was the day we were picking up Gary's truck from the shop. It was a bit of a drive ...
For you 'Houstoninan's' it is on HWY 59 & Murphy Road - the Ford Dealer - I forget the name ...
If you get me in a car, point me in the right direction and store my
So Gary settled me in my car, drove to the dealership, got me out, I scootered to the drivers seat, boosted myself up (With the help of a foot stool - what a glorious day that was ... the day we discovered how much easier my life would be hoisting myself into a very high Ford F150 or Tahoe with a foot stool ...) and adjusted the sights for the drive home.
On the way there we had discussed getting home. I was of the thought that taking the surface streets would be a good way to miss all the rush hour traffic madness.
Gary was of the thought that he would take the freeway home because he wanted to get home QUICKLY. I, on the other hand, was not looking for speed, but something that would not be stressful ...
So we differed ... but that is not all that unusual.
I was quickly becoming nauseous ... apparently just for fun as I saw no reason for this to occur and Gary started looking for places to pull over and purchase me a fountain drink.
There was nothing convenient and I told him to not bother, that I would pick something up on the way home.
Since I was taking the surface streets, my familiar, old haunts before we moved to Norway. I had heard the area was all built up in the ten years or so since I had driven around in that area and was sure the area would be sprinkled generously with fast food outlets.
Convincing me even further to take the route I had picked - we had come in to 59 on Alternate 90 and the opposing traffic was blocked off by Police and a very Toxic looking Tanker Truck sat abandoned in the middle of 5 empty lanes of traffic.
Wanting to rabidly avoid THAT area, I had deduced that my route would be the least stressful and I was good to go.
Gary, several times attempted to convince me that the traffic was not going to be that bad on Hwy 59 - he was going to take it all the way out to 99 (The Grand Parkway) and thus avoiding Alternate 90 and the Toxic Tanker Truck also - but no go - and there were no convenient stops for a drink on the Highway - thus I was undeterred in my quest ...
He shrugged, said something like "To each his own" told me he would let me know when it was clear he would be driving the truck home and I could leave and headed to parts unknown.
I sat back, relaxed and tried not to ralph (yet again) on my dashboard and in no time at all Gary was back giving me the 'Go ahead' signal and I pulled out of the parking lot.
Started down a road that I was fairly familiar with thinking that there was a Burger King with a DRIVE-UP - that all important convenience that has become a necessity in my life - hooked to a Shell station off to my right so I got in the right lane ... 'Ever Prepared' is my motto ...
As I was driving by the Shell station thinking "Hmm, I could have SWORN there was a Burger King there too", I glanced off to my left as I passed a stand-alone Burger King ... apparently things have changed in the ten years it has been that I have been down that road.
I didn't loop around still thinking there would be GRUNDLES and GRUNDLES of fast food joints on my way home. Was on West Airport - at Eldridge I took a right and headed North to my goal: West Belfort - it now goes almost straight through to my house - thus I was just going to take it all the way in to Harlem and then just 'do the usual' and lickety split ... I would be home!
Apparently West Belfort is zoned for apartments and housing since that is pretty much all I saw and my chances for a soft drink were dwindling. Sure there was the occasional gas station ... WITH A STUPID FOOD MART and no drive thru - what's a disabled girl to do?
As I turned onto Harlem, I noticed a big white truck behind me - it was blocking my vision and annoying ... but I was used to that during the times that Gary and I drove in tandem.
I turned onto 99 ... almost home!
Waiting at the light at 99 and the entrance to my sub-division, I looked up in my rear view mirror to see that the big white truck was still with me ... and what looked suspiciously like a 'Gary' driving it ...
Sure enough it followed me all the way home ...
... as I pulled into the driveway FIRST.
I was confused to say the least. Did he not trust me? Did he follow me home? How did he catch up with me since I left a minute or two before him?
I asked him and so he recounted his route:
He got on the freeway fully intending on taking it clear out to 99 but it started to back up so he jumped off at Williams Trace and booked it over to Hwy 6 where he headed North to Alternate 90 - a position way past the Toxic Tanker Truck so he thought he was good. When he got to the turn for 90 he said it was more backed up than he has ever seen it - which is saying a lot since for the past three years this had been his route home until about two months ago.
He was not going to wait for that, so he kept going North on Hwy 6 until he hit West Belfort, made the turn and started taking it home ...
Where he quickly - since he was going much faster than me - caught up with me.
He then stayed behind me until we pulled up and made like he did it on purpose because I would not be able to get out of my car until he was home. It was all a service to me.
He gives and he gives and he gives ...
I had ASSUMED based on my route and his route that he would have been home DECADES sooner than me thus the helping me out of the car was never a worry for me ...
who knew?
It was not until about two hours later that I realized that we had just lived out one of my most beloved of all of Aesop's fables ...
I'm a plodder, but eventually I get there!
No comments:
Post a Comment