Shall we dance?

Happy Memorial Day!

It’s been a nice holiday. It’s nice to have a day off. We had a cook-out at my parents’ house. I’d call it a healthy cook-out. We had tilapia, salmon, chicken, and vegetables. We had hot dogs also, but they were turkey dogs. Then there was cheesecake. It was healthy, of course. Shut up! It WAS healthy! Well, that’s what I’m telling myself. The kids played in the pool (an inflatable “kiddy” pool.) The adults sat around and tried to not get splashed. Then we cooked in the rain and ate ourselves silly. I’m still stuffed. Even if you’re reading this on Tuesday it’s very likely I’m still stuffed.

I decided something this weekend. We should move all Monday holidays to Friday. The three day weekend is nice, but having a holiday on Monday is a bit of a let-down.  Saturday is just another Saturday. Then it’s Sunday. Up early, go to church. Now it’s Monday; a holiday. But there’s work (and school) tomorrow. It’s hard to enjoy a holiday to its full extent when you have to go to work the next day. If the holiday is on Friday, it’s kind of like getting two Saturdays. When the holiday is on Monday, it’s more like two Sundays; not nearly as much fun. Maybe it’s just me.

I need to end with a story. I would say a quick one, but my stories are never quick. Here goes anyway, I think this one will be quick. Maybe not the funniest story ever, but I’ll do my best:

Before Misty and I got married, we bought a trailer. Actually, she bought it. I lived in it. I should point out that this was while we were at Auburn. Students living in trailers is a common thing. The one I lived in the previous year was, well, less than desirable for a newly wed couple. The carpet was at least 30 years-old. There were soft spots in the floor. And it smelled a little… no a lot… moldy. So, we bought a trailer and I moved my stuff. Misty lived down the street a little in another trailer.

While we were in Auburn we would often go to Montgomery to go to the mall. The mall in Auburn was a little scary in those days. I worked there for one night, but that’s another story for another time. This day we were heading to Montgomery for an afternoon of shopping. Misty came to my place to pick me up, but I wasn’t quite ready yet. I was supposed to be ready when she got there. She pulled up and beeped the horn. I wasn’t quite ready, so she stuck her head in the door and announced, “Come on now or I’m leaving without you!”

A few minutes later I was ready to go. I came to the front on the trailer and looked out. Her car was gone. She actually left me! I could not believe it. I thought, “She probably just drove a few houses down to make me think she left.” So I went outside to look. I looked up the street, no sign of her. I looked down the street there she was. Not exactly where I imagined.

In those days, Misty drove a 1980-something Ford Bronco II. The Bronco had some interesting traits. One of the more unique quirks: you could turn off the engine and remove the key without putting it in park. Our trailer was on a bit of a hill. Do you see where this is going?

I looked down the hill and there was Misty; across the street, about 6 doors down in the yard. And there was her Bronco; resting firmly against our neighbor’s air conditioning unit which was lodged about a foot deep in their trailer. We spent the afternoon waiting for the owners to come home, filling out accident reports, and telling people to stop laughing. We didn’t make it to Montgomery. And from that moment on, we made absolutely sure that the car was in park before we got out.

Here are your leaders so far on the Show Tunes quiz: Heath got 9 of 12 guesses right (on MySpace); Mary Catherine was 4-5 and I'll give partial credit on the 5th for the "Scholarship Competition" reference (on LJ); BBH was 1-1 (LJ); and Eric, well, you tried; 2-7 (LJ). Answers tomorrow.