On shopping ...

Generally speaking, I hate shopping!

I really don't much care what kinds of things might be on my list ... and I do make lists, lots of them! -- I hang onto them and keep them until I am finally forced to actually go into a store to look for something or make a purchase. Aargh!!

Maybe I am about to run out of food -- that's a necessary item, right? So, realizing that I MUST go and get groceries, I now get more serious about my list. I go into the refrigerator and start throwing out stuff (some it's hard to even recognize!), think about what I've eaten over the last week or so, what I'd like to eat in the near future, what's on hand, etc. I mean, now it's serious!

If you have young children -- especially a baby -- those needs are at the very top of your list, of course, and you must immediately run out to the store for diapers, formula, whatever! It makes no difference whether or not you 'like' shopping.

However, I haven't been in that situation for many many years. Now, I must admit --and am almost ashamed to say -- that I am much more self-centered.

One might think, from that last statement, that I like to shop for myself. No, no, and no yet once again ... I Do Not Like Shopping!

All that aside, tho, I'd like to share with you a true story from years ago (before I was a taxicab driver and when I was still a housewife and stay-at-home mother).

Even at that time, I disliked shopping and errands. HowEVer, I had this list of 'things' that absolutely needed to be done before I returned home in time to be there when my daughter came back from school.

It was close to 3pm, and I had one more thing on my list ... that of returning a pair of my daughter's jeans to a department store that, upon first wash, the zipper broke! I did not want to complete the list. I just wanted to go home, but something in my mind kept nagging at me to get it 'Xed' off my list ... then I could feel that I had really accomplished something that day!

So, I parked the car and went into the store (not in the world's best mood, either!).

Just a few seconds after entering the store, I could hear this man's voice inquiring about "ties". I stopped to listen, thinking that his voice sounded very familiar. I listened a bit more and thought to myself, "Gee, that sounds a lot like Dr. Wright [one of my major professors as an undergraduate in music at Northern Michigan]."

I peeked around the corner, and guess what? It was Dr. Wright!! Oh, what fun! It seemed that he was in town for MENC (Music Educator's National Conference).

I asked if he was available to come to our house that evening for dinner. He was, and we had just a delightful time. Talk about a serendipitous event!

Somewhere down the road, as the evening progressed, he turned to me and exclaimed, "Helen, something 'dreadful' has happened to your vowels!"