Reflections in the Dragon's Eye: A Journal

8 September 2000

So the car is fixed, now. Finally. All its bits are in working order; there's a new battery under the hood; the hood itself is fresh and pretty.

The thing had better not break again for at least a year.

I almost had another accident yesterday. Some idiot decided that since he couldn't see, it was okay to turn left across two lanes. (I'd try to explain better, but it would require a map, and I don't feel that energetic about it.) I saw him coming at me, gasped, and swerved. There wasn't time for any more. The next thing I knew, I was back on the road, glancing in my rearview mirror, astonished that he hadn't even clipped my bumper. I hope it scared him the way it scared me. I spent the rest of the evening feeling nervous about every other car on the road.

The plan was, Matt would go play basketball after work, and I would head over to Braz and Kris' around 6 so Kris and I could exercise together. When Matt got back from basketball, he'd shower and change and then call them, and if I was still there, he'd come over to hang out.

Matt left for basketball. At 5:45, Kris called to say she was still at work and would be just a little bit longer. She promised to call me before she left for home so I'd know when to come over.

At 6:45, I called their house to see if she'd forgotten. Braz was home, but he hadn't heard from Kris since 5:45, either.

At 7:30, Matt came home to find me working on an abstract drawing project, and glowering. (I'd really wanted to play some tennis.) He stopped dead just inside the door. "The car didn't..."

I reassured him that the car was - as far as I knew - still fixed, but that Kris was still at work. Just as he was heading up the stairs to take his shower, Kris called, and we agreed to head over to their house after Matt had showered and changed.

I stalked around thinking "hurry-up" thoughts at Matt, but by the time we got to Braz and Kris' place, they were just finishing dinner, so it's probably just as well. I was positive that, as late as it was, Kris wouldn't want to play - that we would wind up just taking a walk.

But she was game to play some tennis, even though it was dark. Hurrah! My mood improved a hundred-fold. We stopped earlier than I might have wanted, but I couldn't blame Kris for being tired after such a long day. I felt much better after hitting some tennis balls around. (I probably didn't do my thumb any good, and I actually strained my knee, and my right foot was killing me this morning... But I felt much better.)

Word of the Day: cash cow - a consistently profitable business or product whose profits are used to finance a company's other investments.

News of the Weird: Attorney settles $5 debt from 1931, with interest
-- Back in 1931, Malberry Smith Jr., then president of the Russell High senior class, rented a ballroom for their Christmas party but forgot to pay the $5 fee.

Nearly 70 years later, Smith, now an attorney, paid back the $5 fee plus $513.50 in interest. The organization that still meets in the historic building was thrilled to receive the unexpected payment.

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