B
BamaRider
Guest
Because I’m retired, I have this list of small things I’d like to get done when I find myself bored.
It was almost 100 degrees here today, too hot to ride my motorycles, and too expensive to take the car. So I went to my list and found, “scan old newspaper clips from my retirement ceremony and save to the jump flash.”
Well ok, but I couldn’t find it. So I called Debbie (wife of almost 33 years!) “Look here baby, I can’t find the stuff from my retirement ceremony.”
“Look in the glass case, where I keep Chris’ baptism stuff. What are you fixin to do?”
“I’m gonna scan that clip, get it digital, and save it for all time.”
“I thought you were gonna find out why the lawn mower fails to crank?”
“I’m gonna put that on hold, I’m working inside today.”
“ok, but don’t make a mess.”
I went to the glass case and found my son’s baptismal candle, and his gown, my wife’s candle from her Profession of Faith when she converted just before our getting married, and some scrap books, also a few nik naks, but no newspaper clips.
Then I saw a yellowed shoe box and rattled it around. Hmmmmm. “What is in here?”
I called her back.
“Hey”
“yessssssssssssssss”
“can I open this old shoe box in the case?”
“What you’re looking for is NOT gonna be in there, but since you’re going to anyway, you can open it but ya can’t read anything.”
“oh ye of little faith”
“I’m serious, don’t read the stuff in the envelopes or the other papers.”
“ok, ok”
I opened the box and inside I found some old lined papers in my handwriting, (the days before email) that I took to be old love notes. I was 20 and she was 18 when we met, we only lived a few miles from each other, so I had to think when did I ever write her any letters?? My best guess was when the fire dept sent me to a week long school about emergency driving not long after I graduated from rookie training. But because I couldn’t read them, I didn’t know that for sure.
I was much more interested in the bracelet, necklace and 2 rings I found.
I instantly recognized 2 of the jewlry pieces, a pinky ring and necklace. They were gifts from a previous guy she dated, he worked her pretty hard, about 2 years before she met me.
The pinky ring caused a BIG fuss one night all those years ago, I remembered it like it was last week. The guy who gave it to her was named Danny, and she dated him off and on, mostly for something to do. I knew the guy because he played basketball in our group on Thursday nights. He was a nice guy, fun to be around, but definately not her type. She told he did absouletly nothing for her physically, she was just not attracted to him, but went out with him a few times because she was bored.
He was in college and bound for law school at the time.
When our relationship turned serious, I asked her to quit wearing the ring and anything else he gave her. His family had a little money, and I guessed the items were kind of expensive.
“Look here, I’m NOT gonna put up with you wearing Danny’s ring.”
“Oh Guy, don’t be silly he means nothing, it was a birthday gift.”
We were driving back from somewhere, and it was late at night.
We debated the issue a few more miles.
“Look Debbie that is not the point, you know I’m not the jealous type (very much) but everytime I see it I think about HIM.”
“I guess that means the necklace too?”
“He gave you a necklace too?”
“Valentine’s Day”
“Sheesh, he pulled out ALL stops, all I gave ya was some flowers.”
I thought about that night and put the box back on the shelf with the contents undisturbed. In fact, I was kind of smiling about it, thinking about what my plan of action would be.
I decided to go with the old “pretend I’m hacked off, and at the last minute start laughing” trick.
Later on that night we were in our usual spots, me in the middle of the couch, her on the matching chair, watching the big screen. I spoke out to her.
“Look here baby, why ya wanna keep that jewlry Danny gave ya?” In my most serious tone.
She peered back to me.
“Do what?”
“Uh huh, I found it the shoe box, want me to go get it?”
“YES”
I brought the box in trying not to laugh.
“see there, all that stuff Danny gave ya.”
“yeah I kept it, cause I didn’t know what else to do with it, stuff was expensive.”
"how do I know you ain’t been swooning about all these years, “ooooh Danny boy! Come back and rescue me, I messed up.” I still wasn’t smiling, but it was hard
“oh please, you gotta get a job you got too much time on your hands.”
'Now you know* I’m *the model husband, but perhaps you were hedging all these years."
“Stop it, you know I thought Danny was a nice guy but pure dud in the some important areas.”
“yeah I knew he was a dud, so that took some of the pressure off me”
“I tried to give that stuff back but he wouldn’t take it, but hey we had this talk 34 years ago?”
“I reckon it was those love letters I wrote that decided the issue then?”
“no we were already married when you wrote those letters.”
The I started laughing.
She threw the newspaper at me. “I thought you were being serouis.”
I put the shoebox back and laughed about it the rest of the night.
A few days latter she came in, took out her wallet, and counted out 385 dollars.
“So what’s goin on?” I asked.
“I went to the Jewlry store today and sold that stuff from Danny”
“No you didn’t”
“Yes, I did, so Danny is taking us out tonight-kind of.”
We went up to LongHorn for supper, and the rest of it went I know not where, she didn’t tell me. But I have a birthday coming up soon.
It was almost 100 degrees here today, too hot to ride my motorycles, and too expensive to take the car. So I went to my list and found, “scan old newspaper clips from my retirement ceremony and save to the jump flash.”
Well ok, but I couldn’t find it. So I called Debbie (wife of almost 33 years!) “Look here baby, I can’t find the stuff from my retirement ceremony.”
“Look in the glass case, where I keep Chris’ baptism stuff. What are you fixin to do?”
“I’m gonna scan that clip, get it digital, and save it for all time.”
“I thought you were gonna find out why the lawn mower fails to crank?”
“I’m gonna put that on hold, I’m working inside today.”
“ok, but don’t make a mess.”
I went to the glass case and found my son’s baptismal candle, and his gown, my wife’s candle from her Profession of Faith when she converted just before our getting married, and some scrap books, also a few nik naks, but no newspaper clips.
Then I saw a yellowed shoe box and rattled it around. Hmmmmm. “What is in here?”
I called her back.
“Hey”
“yessssssssssssssss”
“can I open this old shoe box in the case?”
“What you’re looking for is NOT gonna be in there, but since you’re going to anyway, you can open it but ya can’t read anything.”
“oh ye of little faith”
“I’m serious, don’t read the stuff in the envelopes or the other papers.”
“ok, ok”
I opened the box and inside I found some old lined papers in my handwriting, (the days before email) that I took to be old love notes. I was 20 and she was 18 when we met, we only lived a few miles from each other, so I had to think when did I ever write her any letters?? My best guess was when the fire dept sent me to a week long school about emergency driving not long after I graduated from rookie training. But because I couldn’t read them, I didn’t know that for sure.
I was much more interested in the bracelet, necklace and 2 rings I found.
I instantly recognized 2 of the jewlry pieces, a pinky ring and necklace. They were gifts from a previous guy she dated, he worked her pretty hard, about 2 years before she met me.
The pinky ring caused a BIG fuss one night all those years ago, I remembered it like it was last week. The guy who gave it to her was named Danny, and she dated him off and on, mostly for something to do. I knew the guy because he played basketball in our group on Thursday nights. He was a nice guy, fun to be around, but definately not her type. She told he did absouletly nothing for her physically, she was just not attracted to him, but went out with him a few times because she was bored.
He was in college and bound for law school at the time.
When our relationship turned serious, I asked her to quit wearing the ring and anything else he gave her. His family had a little money, and I guessed the items were kind of expensive.
“Look here, I’m NOT gonna put up with you wearing Danny’s ring.”
“Oh Guy, don’t be silly he means nothing, it was a birthday gift.”
We were driving back from somewhere, and it was late at night.
We debated the issue a few more miles.
“Look Debbie that is not the point, you know I’m not the jealous type (very much) but everytime I see it I think about HIM.”
“I guess that means the necklace too?”
“He gave you a necklace too?”
“Valentine’s Day”
“Sheesh, he pulled out ALL stops, all I gave ya was some flowers.”
I thought about that night and put the box back on the shelf with the contents undisturbed. In fact, I was kind of smiling about it, thinking about what my plan of action would be.
I decided to go with the old “pretend I’m hacked off, and at the last minute start laughing” trick.
Later on that night we were in our usual spots, me in the middle of the couch, her on the matching chair, watching the big screen. I spoke out to her.
“Look here baby, why ya wanna keep that jewlry Danny gave ya?” In my most serious tone.
She peered back to me.
“Do what?”
“Uh huh, I found it the shoe box, want me to go get it?”
“YES”
I brought the box in trying not to laugh.
“see there, all that stuff Danny gave ya.”
“yeah I kept it, cause I didn’t know what else to do with it, stuff was expensive.”
"how do I know you ain’t been swooning about all these years, “ooooh Danny boy! Come back and rescue me, I messed up.” I still wasn’t smiling, but it was hard
“oh please, you gotta get a job you got too much time on your hands.”
'Now you know* I’m *the model husband, but perhaps you were hedging all these years."
“Stop it, you know I thought Danny was a nice guy but pure dud in the some important areas.”
“yeah I knew he was a dud, so that took some of the pressure off me”
“I tried to give that stuff back but he wouldn’t take it, but hey we had this talk 34 years ago?”
“I reckon it was those love letters I wrote that decided the issue then?”
“no we were already married when you wrote those letters.”
The I started laughing.
She threw the newspaper at me. “I thought you were being serouis.”
I put the shoebox back and laughed about it the rest of the night.
A few days latter she came in, took out her wallet, and counted out 385 dollars.
“So what’s goin on?” I asked.
“I went to the Jewlry store today and sold that stuff from Danny”
“No you didn’t”
“Yes, I did, so Danny is taking us out tonight-kind of.”
We went up to LongHorn for supper, and the rest of it went I know not where, she didn’t tell me. But I have a birthday coming up soon.
