The World Keeps Getting Smaller

 The part of my job that doesn't turn me on is having to call students to return the computers we loan to them. I start out with emailing them, then I call them if I don't hear from them. Once people hear "SUNY Adirondack" they usually hang up because they know they're guilty of absconding with the computers! What they DON'T remember is that they signed a form that says if it isn't returned: they will be charged for it. You'd be amazed at how quickly you hear from them when they get a letter from collections.

But that isn't exactly what this post is about.

I was going through my list a week or so ago, and got to the name Lydia. She has had a laptop since August of 2021. So without a lot of hope, I called her on August 8, but her voicemail was full. I called her again on September 11 and surprise: I was able to leave her a voicemail. But the biggest surprise was she called me back! She said she was sorry and of course would return the laptop. She said it had been a rough year, what with a house fire that had sent her fiancé and son to the hospital.  I commiserated with her for a minute. As we chatted, she mentioned that they lived in South Glens Falls. I said I live in South Glens Falls! Then she said she lived on Spring Street. I used to live on Spring Street! What a coincidence! So she said she would bring in the laptop by Friday.

I'm sitting at my desk this afternoon and a woman of color stepped in. "Hi Rita! I'm Lydia and here's your laptop." "Wow, thank you so much Lydia. I see there's no power cord." We both laughed and she apologized, saying she did have it and would bring it to me on Monday. She then asked me if I had lived in this area long. I said I sure have. She said, "Did you know Bill Harris? He usually walked around the area with a leather satchel over his shoulder. Walked everywhere." I racked my brain but couldn't place him. Turns out he was her grandfather. I said, "The only person named Harris that I knew was LaRue Harris." She gasped. "That was my grandmother! I got a chill when you said her name because that's  not a common name. Did you know Stephanie? She's  my mother!"  And yes: I did know Stephanie and her twin brother Stephon. I knew their mother LaRue because she was one of Marie's best friends, and Marie used to do her hair and she'd bring the kids with her. She really was one of my favorite people, right up until she died.  I didn't recognize the name Bill Harris, because I only knew him by the name Harris as LaRue's husband. That's all she ever called him!

The coincidences kept piling up. "Paul Ramsey was my uncle." "He was one of my brother's best friends! (he died in May) His sister Mary used to be one of my good friends back in the day!" It was amazing the number of people we had in common, but our paths had never crossed. The world really is small! By the time we were done, we felt like WE were related! And it all happened because of a missing laptop.

That encounter really lifted my day. I think we were destined to meet so we could share some memories of people that we have / had in common. It never would have happened if my boss didn't have me make those calls. I'll chalk it up to a God thing, and something good happening on this particular Friday. 

Thanks for reading: and have a great day!!

Where's Keith?

 That's a good question. I arrived at work before 8 a.m. Accompanying me is a bucket of KFC that I put in the work refrigerator when I arrived. Why do I have this? I'll give some background and then explain.

Keith is my 2nd oldest brother. He is 3 years older than I am. Seems like I've spent a good amount of time looking for him over the years. It began when he was around 14 years old. He and Carl, the oldest, had a big group of friends and they'd be out and about in the neighborhood. Of course Carl knew when to come home, but not Keith! Marie would ask, "Where's Keith?" and Carl would just shrug. Then Marie would send ME out to look for him, at late elementary school age. And when I would finally find him and tell him mom said to come home, he would cuss at me all the way to the house. What fun for me!

One time when he was still a teen, Marie sent me to look for him. I couldn't find him anywhere. When I went back home without him, she panicked. She told my father to call the police and as he was about to do so, there was a knock on the door. He opened it, and there was Keith being brought home on a stretcher! Marie thought the worst but the EMT just laughed. "He's fine, but one of his friends had taken a bottle of booze from his parents and the group of them got hammered. He's fine, just needs to sleep it off!" Keith was laughing and saying how much fun they'd had, and Marie was threatening him within an inch of his life. Good times!

Fast forward several years. My sister Robin had bought herself a sassy red Nissan sporty car. It was so cool! And on occasion she would let me drive it, IF she was also in it and I was taking her somewhere 😒 Anyhoo, one night I get a call from her. "Ugh, can you go pick up Keith?" I asked, "Where is he?" "I let him borrow my car and he got in an accident. He's at Beakfast" (our nickname for our local convenience store). "Oh brother, I guess so." So I got in my little car and headed to the convenience store where I found him with a police officer. And as always, for some reason he was mad at me. So he cussed at me and told me that he only had one sister, and it wasn't me. Okay: bet. Robin: you can have him!

After that we had very little contact for many years. No skin off my nose, since he only had one sister, right? But after Robin died I guess I became the sister because he needed favors that she would do. So occasionally I would help him out. He would call, I would roll my eyes but I'm a nice person.

Maybe five years ago, Keith called me and said he was leaving town for a while. "Where are you going?" "Don't worry about it," and I didn't. A couple of days later, Clancy called me. "Where's Keith? I can't get ahold of him." I repeated the cryptic message he had given me before he left. "Oh, so where do you think he went? He never goes anywhere." I said, "For some reason I think he went to Texas."  "Not mad at that. Carl can keep him for awhile." A few days later I was proven right when a car with Texas plates showed up in Marie's yard, and Keith and Carl got out. Sheesh, why the secrecy and drama?

Then four years ago I realized I hadn't heard from him in a few days. This was highly unusual. I mentioned this to Brie and she said, "Be thankful for small favors." I called Clancy and asked if he had heard from him. Nope. Finally Keith called me one evening. "Hey, can you do me a favor?" "What?" I said. "Give me a call in the morning." "O-kay, what am I calling you for?" "To make sure I'm still alive." "WTF Keith?" "Don't worry, just call me."

So the next morning I dutifully called him before work. No answer. I tried again. No answer. I texted Clancy to see if he'd heard from him.  'Where's Keith?' and told him about how he told me to call him. Nope, he hadn't heard from him but said he would call him.  I called again, in a panic. Finally he answered. "What is going on? Why didn't you answer?" "Oh sorry, I've been really sick and wanted you to call me to make sure I wasn't dead." SERIOUSLY Keith?? And by the way: he did almost die. It was covid, but we didn't find out until later because no one had heard of covid yet...

Now we'll skip to yesterday. He had asked Brie and I if we could pick him up the Tuesday chicken special and Brie said yes. So after work we go to KFC, get his order and drive to his apartment. I called him from the parking lot. Voicemail. I waited a minute and called again. Voicemail. "Where the heck is he?" Brie asked. I answered "no clue" and called again, leaving a voicemail. Brie said, "I'll give him 2 minutes and then I'm out. He knew we were coming!" It's a locked building so I couldn't even go to his apartment door. I thought about where he could be, then realized he might be at the Eagle's Club, where he is a member. I called there, but the person who answered said he hadn't been there that day. Huh.

Finally we went home, perplexed. We put the chicken away in case we heard from him. I got a text from my youngest brother Clancy. "No luck finding him?" How did he know I was looking for him??? So I texted him back, and he told me that he had stopped by the Eagle's club and someone told him someone called looking for him. 

FINALLY Keith called later that night. "Sorry, I was sleeping." I'm thinking 'that's better than being DEAD' and told him we would drop it off on our way to work the next day. I would call him when we were on our way. Then I let Clancy know he had gotten in touch.

So today Brie and I are on our way to his house and I call him. No answer. We get to his house and call him. No answer! We didn't want to be late for work so Brie said, "Eff it" and we left. I thought he would have called while we were on our way but NOPE! Then I apparently got the short straw and had to take the chicken in with ME because my department has a bigger fridge so I could store that bucket of extra crispy. And that's why I have a bucket of KFC.

By the way: he finally called me this afternoon and said sorry, he was still sleeping. He also promised he'd be home and awake after we got out of work, and to just call him to come down. We did, and were finally able to give him his food. And hey: he tipped us $10 for our troubles. I'll count that as a win!

A Giant Toddler

 A couple of weeks ago, I had the misfortune to contract an ear infection for the first time. I was less than pleased, to say the least. Was fine on Saturday, then woke up Sunday morning in pain. A couple of other fun symptoms came with it, so I was treating myself with over the counter meds. Eventually the ear pain went away yet the stabbing headache did not. 

So off to the doctor I went, where I was given an antibiotic. This took care of everything but the lack of hearing in my left ear. I was told that it could take up to two weeks for it to come back. Bummer.

But then, last Tuesday evening, I got up to go to bed and whoa! I was feeling rather lightheaded. I've had dizzy spells before so knew I'd be fine in the morning. Guess again! It was still there in the  morning. I had things to do, so I got up and headed out the door. Well, thought I was heading out the door until I kind of ran into the wall. WTF? Brie asked if I was all right and I said yep: just going to the bathroom. 

Let me tell you a little bit about vertigo: it's like being a giant toddler just learning to walk, careening and crashing through the hall to get where you're going. Vertigo is a sensation of motion or spinning that is often described as dizziness. Vertigo is not the same as being lightheaded. People with vertigo feel as though they are actually spinning or moving, or that the world is spinning around them. That's what I had. Luckily I was able to make it to the bathroom without hurting myself, then I made it back to my room and laid back down, sweating from the effort.

Again, I figured it would go away in a little bit. Brie was concerned as I couldn't go to work but I said I'd be fine after that day. Wrong! Because my ear was still clogged, it did not get better. My equilibrium was messed up. By Friday I was driven to the doctor by one of Brie's friends. The good news was: I had lost eight more pounds so now I am only four pounds away from my weight goal! The bad news was the ear infection was still there so they had to flush out my ear, then pick at it, then flush some more. They called in three new prescriptions for me to start. Seriously??? They promised that these meds would do the trick and give the ear time to totally heal. So I'm on a steroid, something to stop the dizziness and a nasal decongestant. Trying to coordinate the spraying with sniffing and whatnot is for the birds, and you can taste it afterwards. Gross! Thankfully it's only once a day but still...The dizziness is still here but bearable: I'm hoping by the time I'm halfway through the steroid it will clear up. My ear is trying! I'm able to slowly walk with just a hand out in case I head for the wall. But I'm at work today so there's a plus.

It's been quite the year for me, but I'm still standing (albeit a little crooked, haha). This too shall pass. Then I promise the rest of the year will be amazingly good for me! I'm basically a pretty healthy person so this has been a bit of a shock for me. But I have faith and I keep looking up for the blessings to fall. I know they're coming, so stay tuned! 😊

I Miss These Ladies!

 I was cleaning out my email today (yeah, it seems like I do this a lot) and came across a document that my former coworkers Pat and Amy had made for me. We worked in a really tough department, Executive Customer Service, but we managed to suffer through and become close friends. We shared each other's lives and helped each other as only true friends can. My birthday was coming up, and this is what they did for me that year: gave me a birthday week of poems and treats! I only wish that the colors and font had shown up!! I had forgotten all about this, but I'm glad I found it. Patty-Cake and Amy: I still love you 💛💛💖💖 Thanks for the memories.

RITA'S BIRTHDAY

Monday – November 18, 2013

If love and appreciation is what you seek,

We’d like to welcome you to your birthday week!

Instead of a week filled with compromises

We’ve filled your week with fun surprises!

Although each gift may be small and sweet

It has all been designed as a special treat!

No girls needing things, no “hey can you spot me twenty?”

If anyone deserves spoiling, it is you, and plenty!

So sit back and relax, sweet Rita dear,

Through God’s great grace, we celebrate another year!

So what shall we start with? Should we take a lookie?

Whoo-hoo! It is some of your favorite cookies!

Enjoy with love!

Pat & Amy

Tuesday – November 19, 2013

It’s Tuesday my friend and that usually brings tears

Sometimes we need help to battle those fears.

Here’s just the thing to help with the task!

No, it’s not a vacation and it isn’t a flask…

We’re sorry to say that it is not made by the Swiss

It isn’t Godiva…but on our budget: Bliss

We love you the same, and we hope it’s a hit

Your very own bags of some dark chocolate!

Happy Birthday Day Two, and this week is for you!

It couldn’t be one bag…why that just wouldn’t do!

Here is the thing, and we don’t even care

They’re for you to enjoy and you don’t have to share!

Blissfully yours,

Pat & Amy

RITA’S

BIRTHDAY

Wednesday- November 20, 2013

We are half-way through, this week about you

And your birthday is just in one day!

Today’s special treat…big surprise…you can eat!

But it is one of your favorite things!

What is soft and chewy and round…

But not so good for avoiding the pounds?

Through the magic of birthdays, calories don’t count

So enjoy your bagel and don’t you pout!

Not just a bagel…but of course there is more!

Because many a hijinks and hullabaloo is in store!

What is sweet and dark…yet delicious and true?

(Well, of course, besides the obvious…you)

One of your favorites, straight here from Dunks!

A medium dark-chocolate  hot chocolate in your cup!

Enjoy the sweetness our sweet!

Pat & Amy

Thursday – November 21, 2013

Today is the day that we celebrate Rita!

When we think of lovely ladies, no one could be sweeta!

There are so many people you touch with your heart

Couldn’t name them all…wouldn’t know where to start.

Amy’s not here, surely there’ll be no bad prose

But she plans ahead…you should know she’s a pro

Just like an actress, a poet or president

Today’s lunch special honors a State Farm resident

Mark has put together some of your favorite things

Mixed them up in a salad tossed with a zing!

Not everyone gets such great recognition

With that air of authority, you’ve forced our position.

So Rita, sit back and enjoy all the fuss

With this gift certificate, your lunch is on us!

Tastefully Yours,

Pat & Amy

Friday – November 22, 2013

The week has now finally come to an end

We have loved spoiling one of our dearest friends

Whenever you’re sad or blue or just down

Remember this week and toss out that frown

We love you Rita...even your irrational fears

We’ve uncovered a lot of them over the years

We think you are perfect, just as you are

Our team shines brightly…you’re one of our stars!

Some things are harder to find than others

Good honest people and hard-working mothers

You are not only those, but oh-so-much more

We wish you blessings with sweet surprises in store

Here are some last minute things and we hope they’re a hit

Some cherry life-savers and your fave: Alpha-Bits!

Happy Birthday Week! We L-O-V-E you!

Pat & Amy

Rita,

You do such a great job of giving freely from your

heart every day of the year. We both wanted you to

know just how special you are to us, and how much

we really do appreciate and love you. Never

underestimate the value of yourself to us because

you are truly dear to our hearts; it is hard to put into

words.

Wishing you birthday wishes the whole year through.

Love Pat & Amy

Marie Memories

 Every so often I have one of those days where I think about her a lot. I'll see something or hear something and she will immediately spring to mind. Following are a few things I think about in regards to her:

• She always packed the exact same lunch for us in elementary school every day: a peanut butter and bacon sandwich, a hard boiled egg, 4 Oreos and a sliced orange. Sometimes when it wasn't the lunch box, it was a small brown lunch bag. I hated buying the school lunch.
• Her love for Tom Jones. When she found out I met him once when I was doing a fashion show, she just about lost her mind!
• She would tell me "a whistling woman is fit for neither God nor the devil". I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but it terrified me. There were no other options! And now I am no longer able to whistle!
• Sometimes she would call and say she made something I really liked, and she would save me some. When I would stop by, she would have it in a container. I always said, "Can you put the container in a paper bag like when we were kids?" She always did, and wrote my name on it. I'm not sure why she always seemed to have some on hand, but it always made me happy. Maybe that's why!
• For our birthdays she would always make the same cake: butter yellow golden with chocolate frosting. No matter who you were or how old you were. Man, I miss those cakes! Sure I could make my own with Duncan Hines like she did, but it's not the same.
• She could NOT make chocolate chip cookies. Thank goodness for Mrs. Dinicola!
• She wasn't the greatest dancer, but she could do the Elephant walk and some weird sideways swimming motion when the music got good to her!
• She wouldn't hesitate to yank down my b-r-a from the back (through my shirt) if she thought the girls weren't "sitting right". Shocked me on more than one occasion, and would do it in public! But it was better than being at her house and her telling me to "lift up my shirt so she could make sure the straps were adjusted correctly". 😦 Yeah...no.
• The only thing I ever wrote that she liked was a story about a Christmas angel. I wrote it in the 7th grade.
• She insisted she wasn't a drinker, but she would always accept one (or 2!) hi-balls if offered. (Like a Tom Collins)
• She made my wedding cake, and it was the best cake ever (unlike the marriage).

Oh Marie: we had our differences, but we also had some good / funny / odd times too. That's what I'll always remember. 

Give Pumpkin a pat on the head for me 😊

One Night At The Club

 The song "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton just started playing on the Sirius channel on my phone. It immediately took me back to one particular night at my favorite club. Not because they played this song that night, but because of something else.

I must have been around 18. It was a Saturday night, and I was waiting for my bestie Vickie to pick me up so we could go to the Golden Grill Disco, which is what we did most Saturday nights. She would also swing by to pick up Denise and Ivy, since they lived on the way to the club. We were all dressed up and were anticipating an evening filled with lots of dances and good-looking men!

We got there, sat at our usual table and let the night unfold. We were laughing, dancing, flirting and having a great time - until the unthinkable happened. I was on the dance floor, looked up: and my parents were walking through the door! Not just them, but my Aunt Elnora, her husband Uncle Tom, and my father's brother Jeff from Baltimore with his wife Catherine.

Don't get me wrong: I loved Jeff and Catherine, Uncle Tom was my favorite uncle and his wife was gorgeous. However: what were they doing encroaching on my territory at their age??? I hustled off the dance floor and went up to them. "What are you doing here???????"

Marie answered, "Well you're always talking about this place, so we wanted to check it out. Especially since Jeff and Catherine are here visiting. Tom and El like to dance so..." Seriously??? 

As you can imagine: this put a serious damper on my evening. The only thing that could have made it worse would have been if Denise and Ivy's parents had been there too! And to add insult to injury: all of them except for my parents got on the dance floor and started dancing! Uncle Tom was close behind Aunt El while she had her arm in the air, waving it like she just didn't care! Jeff and Catherine got up there and did the Baltimore Boogie or some such thing. However, thankfully Marie and Clarence just watched with big smiles on their faces. Oy vey! Vickie was giggling and said, "Wow, look at them go!" I was wishing they would!

So there was no more sexy dancing with hot guys for me: not with family on the watch. After awhile Denise and Ivy didn't care but I invited my parents to our table and pouted like a child. When were they leaving???? Not soon enough.

As I look back on that night so many moons ago, I wish I could go back and enjoy that night with them. I'm sure they didn't really care if I wasn't pleased: the important thing was that they had a good time. They even got home after I did that night! But now: Jeff was the first of the group to pass away: followed by Catherine, my father and then Marie. 💔Only Uncle Tom and Aunt El are left but they don't go out dancing anymore... 😢 Sadly, I can't turn back the clock.

Anyhoo, why does that song remind me of that night? Because it was Uncle Jeff's favorite song, and Catherine said that he would leave her for Candi Staton if she'd let him, ha ha. So I always think of them when I hear that song. 💖 Thanks for playing it, Studio 54 Radio!

Remember Gym Class?

 I do! I was getting ready for work one day last week and a memory came to mind about a game I loved to play in elementary school. It was called Crab-Ball. When it was raining outside or cold in the winter, Mrs. Fitzgerald, the girls' gym teacher, would let us choose what we wanted to play inside. We always voted for Crab-Ball!

It was a simple enough game: two teams would get on the floor in crab position. Mrs. Fitzgerald would throw this giant, canvas-covered ball onto the floor and we would crab-walk hustle to kick the ball over the opposing team's goal line. It was hilarious: especially since some of the girls weren't too coordinated! This probably explains why I had wrist problems as an adult! Scurrying around, having your butt not touch the floor while you were using your hands and feet to get to the ball and kick it: it was work. But so much fun! And of course there was always someone who got flattened by the ball at least once during each game, and the rest of us would laugh and laugh. Way to be supportive!

Another rainy day gym activity was something called "Chicken Fat". This wasn't as popular as Crab-Ball but was still fun. Mrs. Fitzgerald would put on this record, and it was like a drill sergeant giving instructions for calisthenics and stuff, set to music! Jumping jacks, squat thrusts and other kinds of cardio designed for elementary school kids. I will always remember the last line of the record: "Go you chicken fat go away! Go...you...chicken fat...GO! Da da da da da, da da da da da, da da da da da: DISMISSED!" If you think I'm making this up: go to YouTube and search Chicken Fat Go and it will pop up by Robert Preston! 😁What a hoot! That song has been in my mind for more years than I care to admit. Nice to know you can still find it. 

We also did square dancing. Even back then I didn't care what kind of dancing it was: I was down for it! I was pretty good at it too. After all, I was the queen of doing the mashed potatoes dance as a toddler, ha ha. My parents were so proud of that! Thanks for the song, Dee Dee Sharp 😄

Life was so much simpler then, and it was easy to get your exercise in.  Maybe when I'm done with my physical therapy, I'll start exercising to Chicken Fat Go and relive my elementary school glory days!