"Those were hard things for me to come by, and I offer them to you for what they may be worth." - Toby Wolff
Monday, May 9, 2011
Lucky to Survive the Weekend
If the weekend officially starts Friday, (which it kind of does around here, when you're itching for it, and the boss is on a flight to Phoenix) it was a very strange weekend indeed. At 8:00 AM, a crew started working on the air conditioning unit at work...directly above my office. Sounded like the sky was falling, and I think it was. Shoulda been four-nineteen!
Around 10:00 AM, a woman had a heart attack or seizure or something...something bad...right outside my office window. She had a man with her but they both spoke only Spanish. I rushed out with a blanket (if you know me at all, you shouldn't be surprised that I have a blanket in my office) to place under her head. Another gentleman ran up with his cell phone. He also only speaks Spanish. I understood the womans request for "agua" and ran back into the building to get water. When I returned, the guy on the phone handed it to me, as the 911 operator did not speak Spanish (huh? We, as white folk, are the minority around here now. Seems like all 911 operators should be bi-lingual in this area!) So I explain she is having chest pains, wants water, and that's all I can figure out. Needless to say, the ambulance finally arrives and denies her the water...takes her away.
Exactly two hours later, I hear a big KABOOM outside my window. A car has run up onto the sidewalk, takes out a parking sign, tries to swerve back into the road and runs smack dab into the taco truck parked outside my window...from the grass side...not the street side! Hell....more ambulances and fire trucks. Told my staff to "run for the hills", save themselves. Weird ass day!
Got a last minute call for dinner at Bob and Janet's house out in the middle of nowhere. Had a lovely dinner! Somehow....SOME-DAMN-HOW (and as I was not hostess, I can blame our hosts for the "how") we are jamming on guitars and mashing out harmonies to "Annie's Latest iTune Downloads" when I glance at my phone. It's 1:30 AM! (If you know me at all, you know I am usually in bed by 9:30 at the latest!). I look at the kitchen counter. 8 bottles of wine are sitting up there like silent sentries to a strange feeling beginning in my gut. HOW? Did. We. Drink. All. That? I do the math....8 bottles, 4 people (and if you know me at all, you know my math ain't so good. I am the only person I have ever known that somehow managed to get a BA without taking a single math course!). So I figure I'm smashed, but I didn't feel bad...just tired.
We head home and pass out around 2:00 AM. I am up at 6:00 AM to work the farm with one hell of a headache. As the day progresses, things get worse. I actually considered going to emergency at one point,
'cuz I'm pretty sure I have blood alcohol poisoning. BAD. Real bad day...and I spend the rest of it in bed.
Up at 5:30 AM the next day for church (and if you know me at all, you know I sing in one of the church bands that inevitably ALWAYS plays the holidays). So I sing from 6:30 to Noon for all three services and have no kids for Mother's Day...one workin', one moved. Got a call. Got a text. BUT...the weird thing is, that Pastor Tim read my last poem in church. I've never heard my poetry read out loud before, especially not in church ('cuz if you know me at all, you know I have a 'potty pen'). Very strange sensation for me. It actually sounded okay...like I hadn't in fact written it, but was listening to someone else's words.
Strange weekend. Strange post. I think I'm still a little wacked from the wine. Tried a little hair of the dog on Sunday but couldn't stomach the stuff. Might have ruined it for me for good (but if you know me at all, you know it's not the first time I've said that!)
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I "know you",, and i think that is a good thing, :)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I call participating in the color of life. If I were your spiritual advisor, at this point I would be challenging you to find your serenity and keep up your welcome for life like this to happen while you hold your serenity close as you participate fully and openly.
ReplyDeleteGlenn - I told Bob that if I believed in reincarnation, I would want to come back as him. He said If I really knew him, I wouldn't say that. I said, "I can only know what you let me see." Even more true for Blogland. But you "see" more than most.
ReplyDeleteChristopher - Color of life indeed. Serenity is a pretty hard during someone's heart attack...but I'm usually a pretty calm cookie in major disasters. Spiders, bees, losing my car keyes...I fall apart. Go figure. But that is a great mantra. I'm going to try saying it every day. "Hold my serenity close as I participate fully and openly in the color of life!"
Happily, I do know you. Some days the Universe is just totally out of whack, no? Thank God your bad day is over and done and you survived.
ReplyDeleteHooray for Brother Tim! The more I hear about him, the more I think you married the wrong brother. (Sorry, if you know me, you know I have no filter between brain and fingers. Tee-Hee). I'm so happy he read your poem. What an honor!!! You ARE an amazing poet, girlfriend.
We're warily watching the mighty Mississippi river & Red river (and all tributaries) down here, plus the MorGANza spillway news. My oldest sister & niece had to evacuate because she lives on the banks of the Atchafalaya River. As Roseannna Roseanna-Danna would say, "It's always some damn thing!"
Love to you, my Annie,
Marion
Awesome read!
ReplyDeleteI know you better after this :). Blanket for emergency, wine with friends-too much, singer, writer-- nice! Bed by 9:30???! No :)!
ReplyDeletethe happening of such strange events are not as strange specially when one expects a peacefull smooth time .:-)
ReplyDeleteyou really have blanket at office?
Some very unsettling days, you had to deal with. It made for great reading, and keeps boredom away. So much life is being lived here… I’m a little envious.
ReplyDeleteEight bottles of Wine?
ReplyDeleteFour people??
I like those odds!!! ;o)
Namaste...
~shoes~
Ahahaha loved this. I feel like I know you a little better now.
ReplyDeleteIt's official then ... being at work is potentially hazardous to health. I shall inform my boss immediately :) T'is strange this proximity to other people's disasters. It kind of shakes you up and reminds us how fragile everything is.
ReplyDeleteLike you I fall apart at the minor stuff but hold it together when others are counting on me. It's like their need provides the strength in a way that our own needs never do. Funny that.
Ah now Annie you are a poet and a bloody fine one too. The intensity you project through your words at times is quite astonishing to me. xx J
You made it through, with some ups, some downs, and some 90° degrees of randoms... Sounds like a microcosm of life. : j
ReplyDeleteI'll drink to you, apple juice... A large mug's worth! And give you a (quiet) cheer!
Whoa .. a whole lot of commotion in a weekend. And a lot of living! Good times to be had and enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Might have to do a post about who I REALLY am then, for those curious sorts. For now, I'll answer the questions posed above.
ReplyDeleteI'm in bed by 9:30 because I get up at o-dark:30 for either 5:00 AM workout or 6:00 AM bookkeeping before my day job, or 6:30 AM farming on the weekend. Early to bed, early to rise, makes someone healthy, wealthy, and wise. So far it ain't me!
I always have a blanket and spare sweater in my office. I am a cold sort, and there are some menopausal women in my office that have control of the thermostat. I also have a picnic blanket in here for Lisbeth and I to take a siesta at the park during lunch...and I have a wine opener in my desk ;-)
When it rains it pours ...
ReplyDeleteIt's neat the pastor read your poem to everyone.
Would it be wrong to carry a wine opener on campus in my backpack ;)?
ReplyDeletegurl.
ReplyDeletethat is a WEEKEND.