Beware the Sandman
28/04/17 07:44
It just never works when Evan decides he wants to go out with his friends on the night before Nancy has to go to work the following day. This is especially true when he wants to use her car. She worries about him doing this and that and getting himself in trouble one way or another or, worse yet, putting himself in a position where his health is compromised. Maybe that means drinking to excess, smoking to excess, partying to excess, etc. All the things that young men and women do at his age. But you know that your mama sleeps with one eye open until you arrive home. That means she has a restless night and she needs her rest if she is to survive not only a grueling commute but a long day ahead in the office with a demanding but otherwise congenial octogenarian for a boss. It goes without saying that when Nancy sleeps with one eye open I also sleep with one eye open. I looked at the clock across the room when I heard him come through the door and it was a little after 1am. He seemed no worse for wear based on how he moved through the house so I stopped paying attention and soon drifted off. Somewhere in the deep recesses of Nancy's mind her son was still out and unaccounted for. I wanted nothing more than to assure her that he had arrived home safely but that would have to wait. The sandman was still in charge at least for the time being.
I had planned to go to the local Starbucks and park my birthday boy butt down for a spell this morning after Nancy went to work. I wanted to spend a little time jotting down a few notes in my journal. The new Starbucks store was close, the hour was early, and I would soon be sufficiently caffienated so that even the most reluctant of thoughts would come spilling out. It is a travel mode of sorts that I have come to enjoy over the years. When on vacation, I would go off by myself to the local Starbucks and write in my journal. I wouldn't say that the words came out any more easily while in my "travel" mode but I can say that I was perhaps a bit more focused given that I had fewer distractions.
But it was not to be. Not for lack of trying but rather Nancy turned her car on this morning and the engine light indicator came on. Not good. And you know that her problems are always my problems (go figure.) The best I could offer under the circumstances was to check a few things under the hood and then be on call in the event she needed my assistance. That meant being home by the phone and not off galavanting in the local Starbucks where she may or may not be able to reach me in an emergency. I've since checked in and everything is fine so I'm doing here at home what I had planned to do at Starbucks. I made one small compromise - I drove to the store to get my coffee this morning. That was different and enjoyable. I'll take a rain check on all the other stuff.
There are intended consequences and unintended consequences for one's actions in life. It's true. I bought a new car recently replacing a 17-year old vehicle which blended into the scenery hereabouts like an old but well known quantity. There was simply nothing about my old car that stood out. Nothing that would garner the attention of anyone one way or another. In fact, that is one reason I liked it so much. Anonymous is good. You are in essence saying, I am not interested in competing, I do not want to compete, leave me to my own devices. Oh, and thank you very much. I did not buy a new car because I was wanting back in the game. I bought a new car because I needed one. And it just so happens that the car I bought is conspicuous in its own right. By virtue of its make, model, and year, it is conspicuous consumption in all its glory. If not by everyone's standards then certainly by mine. So much so, in fact, that I chose not to take it to the local recycling enter thinking that there were employees working there making minimum wage and my driving up in my new ride would make them feel inadequate one way or another. I just wasn't willing to go there.
It's all in my head, of course. In time I will get over it and get on with things. It's true as well that my community has more BMW's per square mile than Ford F-100's. Most of those BMW's I would venture to say are current model BMW's. Mine is not a BMW, thank the baby Jesus (I would never be able to live with myself) but I'm just saying. And this sentiment of mine may very well be true of everyone but the most jaded and the only difference is how long it takes to get over it. It is not easy having a proletarian mindset and a little counseling might go a long towards getting me over this hump. Is it Popeye who so astutely stated "I yam who I yam"?
I had planned to go to the local Starbucks and park my birthday boy butt down for a spell this morning after Nancy went to work. I wanted to spend a little time jotting down a few notes in my journal. The new Starbucks store was close, the hour was early, and I would soon be sufficiently caffienated so that even the most reluctant of thoughts would come spilling out. It is a travel mode of sorts that I have come to enjoy over the years. When on vacation, I would go off by myself to the local Starbucks and write in my journal. I wouldn't say that the words came out any more easily while in my "travel" mode but I can say that I was perhaps a bit more focused given that I had fewer distractions.
But it was not to be. Not for lack of trying but rather Nancy turned her car on this morning and the engine light indicator came on. Not good. And you know that her problems are always my problems (go figure.) The best I could offer under the circumstances was to check a few things under the hood and then be on call in the event she needed my assistance. That meant being home by the phone and not off galavanting in the local Starbucks where she may or may not be able to reach me in an emergency. I've since checked in and everything is fine so I'm doing here at home what I had planned to do at Starbucks. I made one small compromise - I drove to the store to get my coffee this morning. That was different and enjoyable. I'll take a rain check on all the other stuff.
There are intended consequences and unintended consequences for one's actions in life. It's true. I bought a new car recently replacing a 17-year old vehicle which blended into the scenery hereabouts like an old but well known quantity. There was simply nothing about my old car that stood out. Nothing that would garner the attention of anyone one way or another. In fact, that is one reason I liked it so much. Anonymous is good. You are in essence saying, I am not interested in competing, I do not want to compete, leave me to my own devices. Oh, and thank you very much. I did not buy a new car because I was wanting back in the game. I bought a new car because I needed one. And it just so happens that the car I bought is conspicuous in its own right. By virtue of its make, model, and year, it is conspicuous consumption in all its glory. If not by everyone's standards then certainly by mine. So much so, in fact, that I chose not to take it to the local recycling enter thinking that there were employees working there making minimum wage and my driving up in my new ride would make them feel inadequate one way or another. I just wasn't willing to go there.
It's all in my head, of course. In time I will get over it and get on with things. It's true as well that my community has more BMW's per square mile than Ford F-100's. Most of those BMW's I would venture to say are current model BMW's. Mine is not a BMW, thank the baby Jesus (I would never be able to live with myself) but I'm just saying. And this sentiment of mine may very well be true of everyone but the most jaded and the only difference is how long it takes to get over it. It is not easy having a proletarian mindset and a little counseling might go a long towards getting me over this hump. Is it Popeye who so astutely stated "I yam who I yam"?