A long, strange trip
Drove an hour today with #2 & #3 to attend the 16th birthday of a friend's son. The kids all grew up in our neighborhood but then they moved to the next state over and built a house. We only see each other during birthdays. It's a nice ride but it's not like an hour drive with traffic and stuff. No, it's a backwoods trek where each road gets progressively worse ending with a rut-filled dirt road. Thank goodness it wasn't raining.
It was one of those unstructured parties where everybody just stands around wondering what to do. Plus the 16 yr old had friends from school who he never really bothered to introduce to my 2 and they were feeling a little awkward and self-conscious.
I got the privilege of hanging with the adults. The entertainment consisted of viewing a video tape of the birthday boy that began with his 4th birthday and the conversation went pretty much like this - "Can you believe how much these kids have grown?" and " Yeah. I'm gonna need a few more loads of dirt to level out the yard. See that part over there? Well, I leveled that out a few months ago."
The younguns were shooting off bottle rockets within inches of the partygoers, sticking bottle rockets into the bonfire, burying bottle rockets in the dirt before lighting them, and running in and out of the house for ice packs to put on their burnt fingers.
The dog hid in his house with each 'POP' of a rocket and the guinea fowl next door were raising holy hell! A good time wasn't exactly how I would describe it but there was something nice about keeping in touch with old friends.
On the way home, I wanted to stop and get a cappuccino. Yes, a gas station version but the best you can get in the boondocks. Station #1 ran out of powder mid-way through filling up the cup and the other 2 options were hot chocolate. And wouldn't you know it - the pot of regular coffee was empty, too. Ok, back on the road!
A few miles down the road, there was a nice looking BP. Big sign, well lit, lots of pumps. Surely THEY had some coffee! Walked in and there in the back was the familiar cappuccino machine. Yee Haw. Now we're in business. They even had the proper cups and lids. Not like the old, white Styrofoam and do-it-yourself, perforated lids of station #1.
I fill up 2 large cups with French Vanilla and go to the cashier. I hand him my debit card because since their invention, I never have cash. He then points to a tiny sign taped to the register that says 'Minimum $5.00 purchase needed for credit card transactions' Well, I told him, it was a DEBIT card, not a credit card. He says no - same thing.
Told him I was sorry but that I didn't have any cash, left the coffees sitting on the counter and turned to leave. He says you have to pay for these! I ignored him, got in my car, and drove off into the night sans caffeine.
In all my life I have never shopped in a convenience store with a minimum purchase. And I ain't gonna start now! They can kiss my ass if they think I'm going to be strong-armed into buying crap I neither want nor need.
Got home and grabbed me a cold one out of the fridge. Who needs coffee when there's beer?
It was one of those unstructured parties where everybody just stands around wondering what to do. Plus the 16 yr old had friends from school who he never really bothered to introduce to my 2 and they were feeling a little awkward and self-conscious.
I got the privilege of hanging with the adults. The entertainment consisted of viewing a video tape of the birthday boy that began with his 4th birthday and the conversation went pretty much like this - "Can you believe how much these kids have grown?" and " Yeah. I'm gonna need a few more loads of dirt to level out the yard. See that part over there? Well, I leveled that out a few months ago."
The younguns were shooting off bottle rockets within inches of the partygoers, sticking bottle rockets into the bonfire, burying bottle rockets in the dirt before lighting them, and running in and out of the house for ice packs to put on their burnt fingers.
The dog hid in his house with each 'POP' of a rocket and the guinea fowl next door were raising holy hell! A good time wasn't exactly how I would describe it but there was something nice about keeping in touch with old friends.
On the way home, I wanted to stop and get a cappuccino. Yes, a gas station version but the best you can get in the boondocks. Station #1 ran out of powder mid-way through filling up the cup and the other 2 options were hot chocolate. And wouldn't you know it - the pot of regular coffee was empty, too. Ok, back on the road!
A few miles down the road, there was a nice looking BP. Big sign, well lit, lots of pumps. Surely THEY had some coffee! Walked in and there in the back was the familiar cappuccino machine. Yee Haw. Now we're in business. They even had the proper cups and lids. Not like the old, white Styrofoam and do-it-yourself, perforated lids of station #1.
I fill up 2 large cups with French Vanilla and go to the cashier. I hand him my debit card because since their invention, I never have cash. He then points to a tiny sign taped to the register that says 'Minimum $5.00 purchase needed for credit card transactions' Well, I told him, it was a DEBIT card, not a credit card. He says no - same thing.
Told him I was sorry but that I didn't have any cash, left the coffees sitting on the counter and turned to leave. He says you have to pay for these! I ignored him, got in my car, and drove off into the night sans caffeine.
In all my life I have never shopped in a convenience store with a minimum purchase. And I ain't gonna start now! They can kiss my ass if they think I'm going to be strong-armed into buying crap I neither want nor need.
Got home and grabbed me a cold one out of the fridge. Who needs coffee when there's beer?
posted by bb at 8:36 PM
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