Detours

 The street in front of the bank where I work, is under construction. I don't know what they are doing, exactly, but it involves tar, gravel, orange cones and very slow traffic. I don't care for any of those things, so I took a little detour. I drove down a street lined with small wood framed houses and grassy lawns. There was a young girl sitting on the front steps of one of those houses, and it was like a picture from my past. It was the same house where I had babysat the entire summer I was fifteen.
 The first day of Summer vacation, my parents woke me up to tell me, I would not be sleeping late and going to the pool everyday, because they had made a commitment to their friends. I would be their Summer babysitter.
 My mother drove me there every morning at 7:30. If I was lucky, the little girl would still be sleeping and I could get in a nap. But most days she was up and watching Captain Kangaroo. I tried to convince her, Sesame Street was a much better show, but at two, she already had a mind of her own.
 She really was a sweet little girl, and we got along well. Her parents provided me with a bike to ride, that had a child's seat. So we would ride all over town. Thinking about it now, she really needed a helmet, as I was not so coordinated, with the extra weight on the back. I wonder if she has headaches or blurred vision now. hm....
 At fifteen, I didn't handle dirty diapers very well, so I decided to potty train her. Her parents were thrilled. To this day, I'm not sure how I managed it.
 I cleaned house for her parents and made lunch for them every day, all for 15.00 a week. And, yes, even way back in the 70's that was slave wages.
But, it was a fun Summer. We sun tanned in the backyard while listening to the best music on A M radio. We made cookies and colored in coloring books. I bought her some chalk and we made a mess of the sidewalk.
 After lunch, when she was napping, I would talk on the phone or watch soap operas, or smoke her parents cigarettes on the back porch. I didn't really like smoking, it was just the idea of getting away with it.
 It may not have been the best Summer ever, but I get a good feeling when I think of it, or when I hear the music we listened to on that old radio. It's like a detour for the mind.

Still Missing You

We lost Lauren 5 years ago Friday. It doesn't seem possible. I look at pictures like this one, and it feels like she should be in the next room watching the Rangers play. I see that Gieco commercial, the one about, "Hey you woodchucks, quit chuckin' my wood!", and I can almost hear her laugh. She would think that was so funny.
But the truth is, I haven't seen her in five years, not really. I mean I see her in my dreams almost on a daily basis. But even in my dreams, I know it's not real. If I dream about her being a baby, I'm thinking, how can I protect her better so she never leaves me. If she's grown, it's like I know it's a dream. Crazy, I know, but I'm crazy since she's been gone. I just cant quite get a grip.
I took pink and orange flowers to the cemetery, Friday, and sat and talked to her for a long time. I told her all about Sarah and Jonathon, and Eric and Denice. I talked to  her about the Rangers and about this terrible drought we are in, and the wild fires burning up Texas. I know she's not there, but maybe she knows what I'm saying.
Tomorrow is my birthday, and again, I remember sitting with her in the funeral home on my birthday five years ago, not believing what was happening. I wonder how many more birthdays  will have before I'm with her again.

You Ought To Be In Pictures

 I have a birthday next month.  Not only will I be blah blah years old, this is a drivers license renewal year, which of course means the dreaded drivers license picture. With the rising cost of everything in the world, I would still be willing to pay more for my license if they would just hire a professional photographer. One who could airbrush out my wrinkles and double chin. Maybe they could hire some of those photographers who used to do Glamour Shots. I never had a Glamour Shot, but I always wanted one. They could provide hats and scarves, and one of those rhinestone studded jean jackets. I would turn the collar up, or hook my thumbs in the lapel while giving that "I'm above all this" smile to the camera. Maybe I'll just bring a boa and tiara to wear. And maybe when filling out forms that ask Mr., Mrs. or Ms, I'll just pencil in Princess.
 My drivers license picture is so bad sales girls question if it's really me. I think maybe I need two pictures. One for when I get pulled over. This one would show my Innocent, "what did I do ?" look, or as I like to call it , my Richard Nixon. Whhhaaat, me? The other should be my shocked, is the room spinning look, when paying out at Walmart.

This is the only time anyone ever ask for my license. No one ever questions if  I'm old enough to drink or buy glue, so I suppose I'm making too much of it. But it would be fun when anyone ask to see pictures of my kids, to slip in my TX DPS issued boa, tiara photo, and say, "oh that old thing?".

You Snooze, You Loose

This morning, as I hit the snooze button, I thought to myself, "how does this benefit me?" The snooze button doesn't give one enough time to adequately "snooze", but just the right amount of time to be running late all day. Then I began to wonder how the person who created the snooze button ever got around to doing it.

Have you ever wondered how things came to be? For instance, who decided women should shave their legs and arch their eyebrows? And it makes since that we should wear shoes to protect our feet, but who's big idea was it to stick 3 inch spiked heels on them? Whoever it was, I'm guessing he was a close friend of Satan or a podiatrist.

I'm not much for grand schemes and I'm the biggest procrastinator around. If I ever think of something to invent I wait too long then eventually see it on TV for 19.95 plus shipping. A few years ago I had an idea for disposable diapers in colors and prints. Again, I waited too long. Had it been up to me to discover the New World, my family would still be in Europe.

I have an idea for an adult backyard fort or tree house. I know I want one and feel many others would enjoy it too. It would be a place to just chill after a long days work. There would be no phones, computers or televisions. It would, however, have music and maybe one of those little wine fridges. A person could just sit and look at the stars while enjoying a few tunes. My catch phrase would be A Legal High, ya know, high up in the sky among the trees. Well it's not funny if you have to explain it. Anyway, I think this is a great idea. My husband thinks I'm crazy. What do you think?

Yesterday I was at a friends house when she said she had something to show me. We jumped in my husbands pickup and drove a short distance out to her pasture. There in the distance I saw two donkeys. My friend called out, "Molly, Pablo. Y'all come on" The donkeys came running as soon as they saw her. They came up to let us pet them and ate feed from our hands. They were the sweetest, most gentle animals I have ever been around. Both had markings like a cross on their backs and she explained they were Somalian donkeys and likely the kind Jesus rode on Palm Sunday. Her husband had given her the donkeys for Valentines day. She said she always wanted a donkey. She always wanted one in her front yard so she could look out at him from her kitchen window. I thought, really? I always wanted a pink convertible Barbie car, but a donkey is good too. Before we left, she turned to look at the sun setting and said, " Isn't it beautiful? Sometimes I look around and just say, thank you, God." When we lived in the country, I never said that. It was more like, "God, why have you brought me to this desert land?" Thinking about it now, maybe I was wrong. In the country I never had to retrieve a neighbor child's football from my back yard in my pajamas. The Jehovah's Witness didn't wake me on Saturday morning and no one ever complained about my husband shooting skunks in the middle of the night wearing only his boxers and a baseball cap. People just aren't that "gun friendly" in the city. Also, when we planted a garden, the coyotes and rabbits ate everything so we were never faced with the hard work of reaping what we had sown. I didn't have to be on the look out for snakes or, God forbid, grasshoppers, while picking tomatoes because there where no tomatoes. I really hate grasshoppers, the way they fly in your face with no warning ,and I don't care what anyone says, grass snakes are just as scary as a boa constrictor. So, I guess moving to town was the right thing to do. But then again, I sure would like to have a donkey.

Sweet Forgiveness

Now that the series between the Rangers and Orioles is over, I can say it. I still love you, Vladimir Guerrero. Vlad is the player all baseball players aspire to be. He loves the game, because of the game. He remembers where he came from and how he got where he is today. When he played for other teams, I didn't know or respect him. He was just really good and I hated to see him walking up to bat. Last year he played for the Rangers and I grew to love him like everyone else did. He gave the game personality and was fun to watch. Today we saw him receive the honors he earned during his time with the Rangers. His American league championship ring among others. It was obvious his old teammates were proud of him. He's just that kind of guy. It was fun to see the grin on his face when he did well, even if it was against my Rangers. There are some people you just want to see do well in life. The Pudge Rodriguez's and Lance Berkman's of this world deserve our respect because they know and respect the ones who have brought them so far. Go Rangers!!!! 8 and 1. It's going to be a great year. As Ron Washington says, That's how baseball go. P S Bite me Teixeira and A Rod!

Hey Jude