I went to bed at 10:30 PM and awoke at 3 AM. My bedroom window was open a few inches and I could hear rain falling. The air temperature was about 72°. Several times between 3 AM and 7 AM I seemed to drift in and out of sleep, but every time I awoke it was raining. I finally got up and out of bed at 7:30, showered and shaved, but didn’t eat. I had a 9 AM appointment at a lab for blood work and so I was fasting. I left home at 8:45 to drive to the lab. As I turned onto the final street before the lab, I drove past a flock of Canada geese waddling about beside and in the road. I got to the lab at 8:55. As I signed in I mentioned to the young lady at the sign-in window that the Canada geese were “out of control – they’re everywhere.” She said the geese would often come to the front door as the lab closed, and she said the geese would hiss at her as she left the building.
Today the lab wasn’t busy and I didn’t have to wait. The young woman at the sign-in window said, “Go through that door and go to room three.”
The same young woman turned out to be the phlebotomist. She drew three vials of blood, stuck a cotton ball on my arm and taped it down. I said “Have a nice day,” got in my car, and drove to the nearby Walmart, where I picked up a few grocery items and then drove home.
At home, I unloaded the grocery items, putting some in the fridge, and got back into my car. I drove to a nearby auto repair shop to get my Jeep inspected. I have a dim view of auto inspections. I don’t think inspections make the roads any safer. However, I do think inspections give repair shops a chance to rip off drivers if they feel so inclined. The mechanic pulled my Jeep into one of the bays and put it on a lift. Up into the air it went. Two guys pored over the underside of my car with flashlights like border guards looking for illegal drugs. Finally the Jeep came back down and the mechanic entered the waiting room. He told the cashier that “The Jeep passed inspection,” but he said the brake fluid and power steering fluid smelled “nasty”. The cashier recommended that I replace both for a total price of $180 (plus tax and whatever fees they charge). I said, “No thanks.” I’m sure there are numerous things in and on my engine that smell nasty. I don’t recall reading anything in the owner’s manual about replacing stuff that smells nasty. I don’t doubt that the mechanic is correct – the brake and power steering fluids have been hot and may be oxidized, or whatever they do when they get hot. However, I’m not convinced a funky smell means I should spend almost $200.
I should mow the yard today – it’s been a week and the grass is getting tall. But today, the grass is soaking wet. Wet grass tends to clog the mower deck. Maybe I can mow tomorrow – but even then there will be a 50% chance of thunderstorms.
My amigo CyberDave, who just moved to Memphis, no longer has to mow grass. He is living out of boxes in a hotel for transients – one of those accommodations where you pay by the week for a small room with a tiny kitchenette. Lucky guy.
It’s almost 1 PM – time to break out the Walmart salad I bought this morning. Bon appétit. (That’s French for “yum”).
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