Well, I got what I wanted at Record Store Day on Black Friday, and I am kind of glad that I woke up early to do so--
Because I learned that in the future, I don't have to do this anymore, for reasons I will keep to myself.
So when the next Record Store Day comes up in April, I can wake up a bit later and get what I want to get--
And then leave.
Vamoose!
And let me tell you, it was a difficult morning.
I made my purchases, got in my car, and the dummy light on my car dashboard went on--
Telling me that I had low tire pressure on my rear right tire.
I drove directly to get it repaired, and it ended up that I had a nail lodged near the rim, so I needed a new tire.
I must have picked up the nail when we drove to my brother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving, or maybe even when I picked up my son at work on Wednesday.
Whatever the case, the tire held out for probably 100 miles or so before it became a problem, so thank goodness for that.
But I was out the money for a new tire, and after waiting two hours for it to be fixed, I had to go food shopping.
And I learned a valuable lesson:
Do not go food shopping on Black Friday.
No, the supermarket wasn't the least bit busy, but since so many people did their food shopping for Thanksgiving, the store was missing plenty of stuff on the shelves, being cleaned out for the holiday and not yet being able to fill in the holes.
They were in the process of doing that when I got there, so I simply arrived there at the wrong time.
My son accompanied me to the supermarket, so after we got home and put everything away, we had a well-deserved lunch, and then, I got back to things I had to do, which included our banking.
Social Security came just in time for the holiday, and my son and I were paid from our respective employees, so I had to do my usual banking rituals thst happen at the end/beginning of the month, all revolving around paying rent on the first of the new month.
I did what I could at home, and then I went to two banks, did what I had to do--
And my day, which began at about 3:15 a.m in the morning, finally came to a halt by mid-afternoon.
I guess it was all worth it, but I have to admit that I was pooped.
Today, I have one of three doctors' appointments that I have this week.
Tomorrow's appointment is very early in the morning, so I am going to have to skip tomorrow's Rant and come back with full force on Wednesday.
So I will speak to you then ...
But in the meantime, how about reading the next chapter of my novel?
Plusses or minuses are appreciated.
Thanks, and speak to you again on Wednesday.
9
When Mrs. Panim, her son, and Mrs. Stottle arrived home that day, and after the boy was cleaned up, Mrs. Panim sat on the sofa in her living room, her head in her hands, crying.
“What am I going to do, what am I going to do?” she repeated over and over and over again. Mrs. Stottle came by her, sat down on the sofa next to her, and tried to comfort her.
“He will be fine. He will be just fine,” Mrs. Stottle said, putting her hand on Mrs. Panim’s back. “He is a fine young boy, and don’t take what happened today as an omen for things to come. Abraham Lincoln Panim will do well in life.”
“But what am I going to do about nursery school, and even when he goes into kindergarten, and first grade, and second grade … ? Mrs. Panim asked, still sobbing between each word of her question to Mrs. Stottle.
“I have an idea,” replied Mrs. Stottle, as Mrs. Panim continued to cry. “I have a wonderful idea.”
Mrs. Panim looked up briefly as the tears continued to fall out of her eyes. “What idea is that,” she asked Mrs. Stottle.
Mrs. Stottle stood up and walked to the side of Mrs. Panim. “A number of years ago—“
“What’s the idea?” Mrs. Panim interrupted.
“Just hear me out,” replied Mrs., Stottle. “Please hear me out.”
She gave Mrs. Panim a wad of tissues to dry her eyes, and then the older woman told the younger woman about her idea.
“A number of years ago, long before you were born, I went to school, and probably thought that I would meet the man of my dreams and get married and live in a home surrounded by a white picked fence and have scads and scads of kids myself,” Mr. Stottle said.
“What does this have to do with--?” Mrs. Panim asked.
Mrs., Stottle sat down on the couch next to Mrs. Panim and put an arm around her.
“Let me continue,” Mrs., Stottle said. “Well, my knight in shining armor did not come to take me away, and once I got through high school, I decided to go to college, which, back then, wasn’t something a lot of young ladies did.
“I went to college, got my degree, and since my knight in shining armor never came to rescue me, when I had my college degree, I reached a point where I had to decide what I was going to do with my life.
“I decided to go into teaching, and I ended up teaching for a number of years.”
When Mrs. Panim heard this, her tears stopped coming out of her eyes, and she looked at Mrs. Stottle.
“Please let me continue,” Mrs. Stottle said. “Anyway, I taught for a number of years at a local school. I taught young kids, kindergarten, first, second grade, children of that age.
“And even when I was teaching, I always thought that my knight in shining armor was going to come, and one day, he did! He was another teacher, by the name of Herman Stottle, and he came from another school to teach at my school. He was so handsome, so tall and good looking, and really smart. He was in the room next to mine, and the moment I saw him, I knew that my knight in shining armor had finally come.”
Mrs. Panim, now completely composed, said, “Well, that is all fine and good, but what does all of this have to do with my son? You probably taught many, many years ago.”
“Yes, I did. But back to my story … Herman and I were married after about a year, and we had a wonderful marriage. He continued to teach, and so did I.
“Then, after a number of years of teaching, I found that my eyesight was failing, and my feet were killing me. I could still see, and I could still walk, but not very well. Herman and I went to a number of specialists, but they could do nothing for me.
“Finally, after about 25 years of teaching, I could no longer do my job because I simply could not see well, nor could I stay on my feet for any long period of time. I had to retire. But I asked my principal if I could mentor, or tutor, special children, kids who he thought had the potential to be really successful but didn’t have the confidence to get to that point, or maybe were a little different than what you would call the ‘normal’ child.”
Mrs. Panim’s still red eyes lit up, as if a light bulb went off in her head as Mrs. Stottle went on with her story.
“So even though I couldn’t see well, nor walk well, for a few years, I tutored one child each year. Mr. Stottle continued to teach. We could not have children of our own, so his class were his children and my special student was my child. I know that might seem odd, but that is how we looked at it.
“One year, I tutored a beautiful little girl, who was a foster child and who I knew would succeed with whatever she did. She had little confidence. Children had made fun of her, she was very self conscious of the way she looked, but during that year with me, she came out of her shell, and her body changed, and she looked like every other young lady you would see in school.”
Mrs. Panim wanted to speak, but Mrs. Stottle put a finger up to the younger woman’s mouth.
“I was Miss Meyer back then, and that little girl was born with a tail. When it fell off that year, it was like that little girl was a different child.
“And that child, that little girl who went from a moth to a butterfly over the course of that year, was YOU!”
All of a sudden, the past came into focus for Mrs. Panim. Mrs. Stottle and Miss Meyer were one and the same person. She was the woman who helped her during that one very important year when she was growing up, when she still had a tail that protruded out of her that she was so self conscious of that she always tried to cover it up as best she could.
She never went swimming, never exposed it to anyone, but her classmates knew, and she was the victim of taunting and numerous jokes from both boys and girls.
But then, with Miss Meyer tutoring her, she finally found a friend, someone who believed in her, and the tail literally fell off.
And Mrs. Panim suddenly remembered Mrs. Stottle’s large feet, which she always complained about, and how large and sore they seemed to be.
After that year, she never saw Miss Meyer again. She often wondered what had happened to her, but it all came to her very quickly …
“Do unto others as you would have the do unto you … treat other people the way you would like to be treated yourself.”
“Oh, Miss Meyer … Mrs. Stottle … I so often wondered about you and what had happened to you,” Mrs., Panim said as she hugged the older woman.
“Please let me finish my story,” Mrs. Stottle said. “I tutored kids like you, kids a little bit out of the ordinary, for a number of years, until my eyesight wouldn’t allow for it anymore. Mr. Stottle eventually retired, and I am sorry to say he passed away a little while ago.
“But even if I wasn’t teaching, I always renewed my teaching license, and I still have it. If you allow me to, I will be Abraham Lincoln Panim’s teacher. He can be home taught, and never have to deal with those people again.”
Mrs. Panim screamed “Yes!” and that was signaled the beginning of a new chapter in Abraham Lincoln Panim’s life that was ready to unfold.
