Cars, Stores and Embarrasing our Children

Oooooo it was a bit nipply out this morning and I loved it. I reconsidered my decision to wear my lime green flip flops to the office as I waked gingerly through the grass to the van, but eventually the feeling will return to my toes.

I bit the bullet yesterday and had my car towed up to Cletus' garage. My Mazda has been parked in the yard beside the trailer for a couple of years now, the grass growing around it in true redneck style. I loved that car, but after the Amazon went off to college and both the car and the van needed repairs, I could only afford to keep one on the road. Since I knew we'd need the van to haul all her dorm stuff back and forth to Greensboro, my little Protege' was left sitting. Now that the door on the van is completely busted I had to make another decision. It's dangerous to keep driving it, it's only a matter of time before the bungee cord snaps and the door goes flying open while bopping down the highway. I guess if that happens we could paint "UPS" on the side and pretend, but I'd rather not.

Anywho, I'm pretty sure the car needs a power steering pump, among other things. I mentioned to Lulu that it might have just been a belt or something, I hadn't even bothered looking under the hood, then it sat there for so long that I was afraid of what might have slithered up in there.

Lulu said, "Won't you feel like a big ol' ninny when you find out it's been a'sittin' for want of a two dollar belt!"

Yes.. yes I will.

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This morning in the shower, my thoughts focused on the empty storefront that I pass on the way to work each morning. They've added a "For Rent" sign in the window. I've written before about how I've always toyed with the idea of opening my own store. Prior to coming to work at the Cubicle Asylum, every job I had was either in retail or the restaurant business. Along the way there were many customer service seminars, classes on how to train employees and cutting overhead costs. The first seven years here at the Asylum were spent in the accounting department, doing receivables, payables and payroll. About four years ago I took a night class at the local satellite location of the Big City technical college in small business management.

I had put off any wild notions of quitting my job and opening my own store because of the medical insurance for the Amazon, but now that she's out of college, she's not covered on my policy anyway.

I think, even if the store front is leased to someone else in the next week, that I'm going to sit down and start planning. It's something that I've thought about for years and I honestly don't think I'm going to be able to depend on this place forever. Sometimes you just get a notion that something's meant to be.

~*~

Tickets for Craig Ferguson's Big City date in November go on sale tomorrow morning at 10. Ya'll can be sure I'll be on the website bright and early to try to get good seats. The Amazon wants to go with me, which may or may not be a good thing. I hate her having to see her mother act a fool in public, but if my taking her to a Def Leppard concert when she was sixteen didn't scar her for life, I guess she'll be fine. Poor child had to see her normally quiet and reserved mother scream and bounce up and down, singing at the top of her lungs. She also experienced her first (I think) contact high at that concert. I'll try to refrain from any squealing at the Fergburger's show, although I'm pretty sure I'll snort a time or two.

I'd better get my hiney in gear. Ya'll have a good one :) Friday's coming.. promise.