A very funny post from November, 2011. I still laugh about this trip to this day. What an adventure!!!
This is a work of fiction based
on facts that truly happened.
on facts that truly happened.
Names have been changed
to protect the elderly.
to protect the elderly.
Once
upon a time, a long time educator decided to put her hat in as a
candidate for the superintendency of a small town along the
Arizona/Mexico Border, where she grew up. This educator, also known as
Cheela, applied for this position because her elderly Aunt T. Elizabeth
was living in this small border town in the house where she was born in
1922. Tia was the only one of the seven siblings who grew up in this
town who was still alive. She let all of the family know that she had
absolutely NO intention of moving from this house where she was born and
from this town that she dearly loves. In consultation with several of
the "cousins," Cheela decided to apply and low and behold, she was named
the superintendent in July, 2010.
There
have been many stories that have occurred over the course of the time
between July, 2010 and November, 2011. Many of those stories have been
unbelievable and would have been thoroughly enjoyed by Cousin Felipe,
who died prior to Cheela's term as superintendent. Unfortunately,
because of the nature of the job, Cheela hasn't been able to write about
them on this blog. However, Cheela feels that reality television would
not even believe them. The only consolation for Cheela is the fact
that a certain retired CIA agent would have!!
And
now to get to the "meat" (or turkey) of this story. Thanksgiving
weekend 2011 was fast approaching. Cheela and Tia planned to spend the
holiday in the valley with family. Unbeknownst to Cheela, Tia invited
two of her elderly friends to ride up to the valley with them. So
Wednesday morning, Cheela loaded her SUV with luggage, tamales, Tia, and
the two pugs, Diego and Lucy. The first stop was at Elena's house. Now
Elena is 91 and is legally blind and a bit hard of hearing. All she
had with her was her suitcase and oxygen tank. They then picked up
Nani, who brought her "foo foo" dog along. It took the pugs a bit of
time to get use to the idea that there was actually a "foo foo" dog in
the car. They were not pleased.
The
trip to the valley was uneventful. Nani's daughter was going to pick
her up at a shopping center where there was a wine store. While waiting
for the daughter, Cheela went in to the store to see if they had her
favorite Irish Ale, which they did. They also had a wine tasting going
on and Cheela suggested to Tia, Elena, and Nani that they might like to
go in and taste a bit of wine. They didn't at that point, although
Cheela really wanted to!
Thanksgiving
went well and Sunday rolled around and the return trip was planned.
Cheela and the pugs picked up Tia at her daughter's house in the eastern
part of the valley. They then drove to another town and picked up
Elena and her suitcase and oxygen. They then went back to the shopping
mall and picked up Nani, the "foo foo" dog, her suitcase and several
other items.
On
the way back, they listened to football games on XM as Nani was very
interested in the outcome of games because she had bet on them. They
stopped for gas midway and Tia and Elena had to use the restroom. This
took quite some time. Nani stayed in the car with "foo foo" listening
to the football games and somehow the car doors were locked. When
Cheela tried to get the keys, the "foo foo" dog tried to bite her.
However, that worked out fine and they proceeded on their trip south.
Arriving
in the border town about 4:00, Cheela took Nani home first. After
unloading her several items, she discovered that one box was a case of
wine. It was quite a struggle getting that up the steps to the house.
At one point the "foo foo" dog tried to get out of the house, and when
Cheela tried to stop him, he growled and snapped at her. However,
everything was finally in the house and they could proceed to the next
drop off. Now Elena is legally blind and had some difficulty opening
her door. However, Cheela helped her get her one suitcase and oxygen
into the house without too much of a problem.
Next
stop, Tia's home where she was born........... She had to be let out
in front of the house so that she could disarm the alarm. Cheela asked
Tia to get out of the car quickly so that the pugs couldn't escape and
run for a better life. Tia doesn't hurry, but the pugs didn't escape
either! So around the block they went and opened the garage door.
After all of the luggage, etc. was unloaded and the pugs were safely in
the back yard, Cheela put the garage door down. As she went into the
backyard, she noticed that Tia had a broom and a device that elderly
people (and prisoners who are picking up trash) use to pick things up.
In addition, Tia was looking for the two garbage cans that weren't on
the rack and weren't in the yard. She has paid a child down the street
$5 to put the garbage cans back in the yard after they were emptied by
the city. Unfortunately, both garbage cans were in the alley and
completely full. Cheela went to the alley to put the garbage cans back
on the rack. However, she was only able to pick up one, as the other
was too heavy.
So
Cheela went back to the garage and into the backyard, only to find Tia
bending over the swimming pool. This pool is about two feet above
ground and two feet below. Tia had the "pick" trying to get the plug
off of the drain as the pool had rain water in it. Cheela was very
concerned that Tia would fall head first into the pool and she wasn't
sure how she would explain that to the police and to the family. So
Cheela immediately took the device and removed the drain cover. Tia
then took the broom and tried to sweep the leaves out of the way so that
the rain water would go down the drain--not the leaves. Cheela was not
sure what the result of that endeavor was as she went into the house
looking for her Irish Ale!
Although
this could be considered a work of fiction, IT IS THE HONEST
TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!! How could anyone make something like this up? Cheela
is hoping that there will be some award for this short story, maybe even
having it made into a movie or a sitcom!!!
Who would have "thunk" there could be so much adventure like this here on the border??????????
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