Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Three Beautiful Things 11/24/14: Solving the Walker Puzzle, Seeing Mary Lynn, Food Bank Gratitude

1.  Mom is a member of the North Idaho Retired Educators and she really enjoys going to the organization's meetings -- but they are held in Post Falls and Mom doesn't really want to drive there.  Last week she asked me if I would drive her to today's meeting and chauffeur anyone else who needed a ride.  We drove uptown and picked up Barbara Fisher who has great difficulty getting around and needs a walker.  Barbara got to the car, folded herself into the front seat, and, while this was going on, I was trying every which way I could think of to get her walker into the trunk.  Mom saw me struggling and failing with putting the walker in at different angles, patiently trying to figure out how to solve this puzzle.

"It folds up, you know."

A sheepish look came over my face.  I didn't know.  But, yes, lo and behold, two "Press" buttons were conveniently a part of the walker.  I pressed them, and PRESTO, the walker folded up and fit perfectly into the trunk.

2.  The North Idaho Retired Educators meet at the Post Falls Senior Center, and Mom and Barbara extracted themselves from Mom's car and got inside without incident and I came in, checked in with with where Mom wanted to sit, and beelined over to Mary Lynn's table so I could have a sober talk with her.  Mary and I first met a couple of years ago at Whispers when I was near the end of a night on the town with Byrdman. I was intoxicated.  Even in my compromised condition, Mary impressed me as being a really good person, full of good humor and kindness.  My first impression has been solidified by her postings on Facebook, but, all the same, I've looked forward to seeing Mary again when I hadn't been out enjoying a few beers.   That happened today and I came away from this meeting very happy that a series of "it's a small world" events led to Mary and me meeting each other, sharing the many ways our lives are connected through mutual friends and her husband, and that I got to have some wonderful conversation with her today.

3. The North Idaho Retired Educators took up a collection for the Silver Valley Food Bank and I delivered it on their behalf when when Mom and I returned home.  Two people were there filling out forms to help them get assistance, the man who runs the place was on the phone helping someone work out a billing problem with Avista, and a woman came out of the back of the office and was most grateful when I handed over the envelope with the Retired Educators' donation.

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