May 21, 2016
Gentleman of a youngish age stayed with me, a sales rep for a company in the BIG Grapefruit of North America. ( JUST why do I call Toronto this ?? My curious and decanted, dear and gentle readers ask? New York is the big APPLE ) Lovely young man who stayed here for five days. He came thru the booking agency that takes 15% but we will take what we can get eh?
We wend thru the week eating breakfast together. He had just about everything I can throw on the table, cheese omelets, potatoes lyonasie, pancakes, homemade apple sauce, and of course banana bread to wash it down with, coffee made to industrial standards and could clean paint off walls. (he expanded that he missed one breakfast having to discuss toilets with a rep having a large coffee at the patriot coffee shop, of which the big little city has only 30 franchises, instead a wonderful feast here.)
So it comes to compensation. OUT comes the plateau credit card., and I get my ancient of machines out and wind it up. I get a signature, and count my blessings. He is declined, twice by machine, and once in person with a rep of the credit card company. Thus his new to him card has limit that was reached leaving home. He scrambles to get me another Yankee card. I do not have that in my repertoire and back to the drawing board we go. He calls and types, and a third one comes thru his phone. I jump in the shower and leave my phone with him as I would like to get Lucy walked before the sun is too warm for her. That was the plan. I get my very quick shower, and then nag him for follow up. It comes but I cannot read the numbers.
He calls the numbers out, I write them down. This is another brand. But it works. We are business, in the red but still going. I get a follow up call and find out what the girl in the office is doing for the weekend. (Gardening while on guard at the hospital for her step father.) In between I have fired up all machines, made a bed, but waiting to clean the bathroom he has occupied because he doesn’t leave until 3 pm.
Think all is well. A fourth call I can go about my day which is getting very long. I am cleaning my teeth thinking the money will soon be in the bank. NOT. I get a call that the third card, is belonging to a woman on the road and she too is at her limit.
( ME TOO) I take my cell phone off call forward, waiting for another card to reverse the charges and do it all over again. The reverse does not go thru wait for credit card rep which are all busy of course. I type the diatribe while I linger. The credit card guys stays on the line while I punch in yet another set of numbers and we are set. More signatures and we are good to go. No wonder I have gray hair. Hives too. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. Carl Jung Lucy et MOI