"Car Mirror Falls Off"

these pics I found on web of bobcat kitten look just like our Priscilla
altho of course Priscilla is just a little backyard alley cat from the lanes who adopted us


9:43 am Friday January 9 2009
"Car mirror falls off"

Well I guess today marks the day of the season which no one talks about (because it doesn't have a name) but I call it "waiting for Spring" and it is one of my favorite seasons. It seems to start the day after you think "OK I've had it with winter! I am now ready for spring." And it's like "at your service, madam" the next day "waiting for Spring begins". I don't know if the sap has actually moved up the trees in my yard, if the tops of the trees are actually reaching for heaven, which is the exact beginning of "waiting for spring," but my eyes are drawn to the tops of the trees looking for it. And maybe that is enough. The field of activity will take place there and I am already in position watching. Hahaha like already taking your seat at a sporting event, you know the game will begin any minute. And last night the Moon sure looked Full, especially by the wee hours of the morning. I bet instant Moon hits exact Full "waiting for spring" will begin. At the very least it is in the mind's eye now. And Buddhist New Year (maybe on the next full moon or new moon) is coming up.

Well all our outdoor kitties seem to have discovered Priscilla has soft berth here. They know food is always put out for her. And we have been having lots of visitors during the night when we sleep. Priscilla sleeps with Bill of course, and she sleeps to noon. Bill's friend Jim wasn't surprised to hear it. He said his cat sleeps with him too but she sprawls in the middle of the bed, he gets pushed to the edge and finally it is so uncomfortable he moves over to the sofa. So then she gets up to sleep with him there.

O my goodness! a cat is screeching in heat! I bet it is our Priscilla! She is totally embarrassing herself. O now she is spitting and fighting! I can't see it, I can hear it. She does not treat her boyfriends well, she spits and fights and bites. It makes Beanie seem so good by contrast, all he does is walk quietly around his yard and bury his cookies. He has nothing to do with this absolutely wild cat party going on. It's like watching one child in second grade classroom sitting calmly at his desk with his hands folded waiting for his homework assignment while all the rest are hanging from the chandeliers and doing spitballs.

Yesterday when we arrived at Willy's pool for our swim in the 2nd hand Chrysler (truck is still in the shop) Bill got out, but I had to organize all my stuff, put my purse in my swim bag, find my towel, take off my long sleeve shirt etc. Maybe it was when I was taking off my long sleeve shirt, I merely bumped something, not hard, and I felt something fall and when I turned around to find out, it was the mirror attached to the windshield. I knew Bill would take that very seriously and I called him back. "O NO!" he said, "it's your fault, you have too much stuff." It looked like it had just been glued up on there, so I said "wait! I'll get Willy! he has all the tools." I thought we could just glue it back. Willy came out with me, but he said the same thing happened to him last week, he told Bill he went to Pep Boys and bought the kit, but it takes 24 hours to dry, and he learned the hard way he should have made an x with a pencil to mark the spot. Bill said it happened to him years back and there is a place on Columbus Road which did it in 10 minutes. Willy said he didn't know about that.

So Bill said “Get back in the car Anne, we'll go over there now.” He was worried the place wouldn’t be there any more, “things change” he kept saying “and not always for the best.” And we went there and it wasn’t there. So we tried Columbus Glass and Mirror, the place Willy had guessed Bill meant, but they don’t do cars. So we went to Pep Boys and he said we have to go to an auto body and glass shop, and gave us a card for one by Swapmeet. Bill said “I’m not going all the way over there.” So he said “well then go home and look up one in the phone book.”

So we got home, and Bill said "Look on the computer and find one close to us." They were all far away, but one had a close-to-us address so I called. I don't know why the guy, he said his name is Cort, found it all so humorous, but whatever I said he cracked a joke, which naturally put me in a good mood, it made it all seem so no-big-deal. Car terminology is just not at my fingertips. I should have said "the mirror fell off the windshield," but the word windshield was not in my mind, so instead I told him the story. "I just bumped it the least little bit and it fell off" I said. I thought I was clear. But it was a Tucson auto glass company, he kept trying to understand what glass was broken. Clearly he thought I was an idiot. So he approached the problem with baby steps to try to figure out what was broken. "What kind of car do you have?" he asked, and I told him all about our 2nd hand Chrysler, I did not understand why he wanted that info. But finally it dawned on him what the problem was. "The mirror fell off your windshield?" he asked. "YES!" I said "YES!" "So no glass is broken?" "No, no glass is broken." "Is the mirror broken?" "No" I said, "it fell into my lap, so it had a soft ride home" and I burst out laughing. "Well that's no problem" he said, "this happens all the time, it just happened to me this morning because I have a very old car, the UV in the sunlight simply eats up the adhesive, it happens in new cars too. It wasn't your fault it happened, it would have happened anyway." I had told him I bumped it and Bill said it was my fault for having too much stuff.

I guess he doesn't have a shop because he said he will come over to fix it. I said "you will want to be paid in cash not with check or the card." He said "right." I said "how much will it cost, I'll look all over and see how much cash I have." "15 dollars" he said. "15 dollars!" I said "that is great! that is nothing." And then he made another joke "did I say $15 I meant $150." I knew it was a joke. And he said "that is a joke." "I knew it" I said. "When do you want me to come over?" "Now" I said. "Now?" he said. "Yes, now." Bill had said he wanted it fixed now. "OK "he said, "I'm coming over, what is your address?" And I sure thanked him a lot and got off the phone to tell Bill the good news. Bill said he has a $20 and a ten. I said "good! give him the $20, 5 dollars for tip."

And then I went to the couch in backyard to relax in sunshine, the house is ice cold. My Higher Self said he will be there in 15 minutes so I just lay there and chit-chatted with my Higher Self and communicated with Cort in my mind too. And Beanie came out so he could lounge next to me on the ground and have gazillion pets. And eventually I heard what sounded like voices in my front yard but I could not be sure. And then Bill came out and said “it’s done, but we have to wait 10 minutes, then I will take you to Edith Ball Pool and we will go to Sunflower to buy food for Beanie and groceries.” “Great!” I said “great!” “Did you give him the $20” I asked. “Yes” he said, “he was very appreciative.” “Good!” I said “good!”

And 15 minutes later we set off for the swimming pool again, a different pool tho cause Willy's is closed. And it was a really nice swim and Jeff was there, I was surprised and happy to see him. And delicious hot showers. Willy's showers have not gotten warmer, they have gotten colder. Now all the girls are happy when it turns tepid from ice cold, the day we thought it would be hot are just a memory.

And we did nice little shopping at Sunflower. Bill waited in car. There were a lot of instructions. "Don't touch the mirror!" he told me, "don't slam the door! and have all your stuff organized so you don't bump it!" "I promise I will be very careful" I said. When we got out of Sunflower I guess sunset was starting. I really rarely do get to see sunsets, none of my windows face it, and usually I am watching tv anyway. But when things go wrong, hahahaha, somehow it always means you are driving in the car at sunset, you do get to see the sunsets. Of course usually it is a beauty show involving pink. But yesterday was one of my favorites because you so rarely see it. It all involved yellow light, a pale yellow, almost lemony. It was so subtle and so beautiful it took my breath away. I loved it. And all’s well that ends well.