And into the River (then the Fire)!
Ok, so…how are you? I’m doing well. Have I got some things to share! Let’s just get down to it then…shall we?
As all of you are aware, I severed ties between C…oops, I almost said who it was that I worked for!...on Wednesday morning. Little did I know the changes that this simple thing would bring to me.
Wednesday was probably one of the better days that I’ve had in a very long time. I mean, the world was my oyster, and…well, unlucky for me, I don’t eat oysters. Ok, the world was my bowl of ice cream, and I was going to eat it! Darn tootin. Anyway, everything seemed well in Scottsville (by the way, all the cities here in Maryland have weird names like Ladiesburg (or was it ville?), Boonsboro…well, the list could go on and on). I say “seemed” because little did I know that early the next day, my world was going to experience a shock.
Wow…how was that for a lead-in to something? I feel nervous just re-reading it. What could have happened? Who did what to whom for how many cookies?! Tune in next paragraph for the exciting conclusion of this wonderful cliffhanger!
Ok, so I woke up Thursday morning and kinda yawned once or twice. As I slowly wiped the sleep from my eyes, I noticed that someone had left a message on my phone sometime during the time that I was asleep. I check my messages, and I hear, “Scott, call me back. Your dad is in the hospital. He’s had a heart attack.” I almost dropped the phone. My dad…in the hospital…with a heart attack? Yeah, right. This isn’t April 1st! Well, it wasn’t any sort of joke…it was for real. I called my mom, but there was no answer. I called my sister, who I assumed would be at the hospital with my mom, and eventually, I was able to talk to her. He had a heart attack. 100% blockage in one artery. 15-20 minutes away from death. Lucky for me, I didn’t have a job to go to that day. I started looking up ticket prices to see if I would be able to fly to Baton Rouge. I waited most of the day before I was able to talk to anyone again, and when I finally did talk to my mom, she sounded tired (then again, who can blame her? She had been up, for all intents and purposes, since 5am the morning before), but she said that the doctors were expecting him to recover after some rest and lots of meds.
Well, Friday, I was still considering flying to Baton Rouge. I knew that I didn’t want to regret anything in life (one of my life rules, actually…regret nothing) and I didn’t want to have to tell my kids (someday) that I hadn’t seen my dad when he was in the hospital. What kind of picture would that paint of our relationship?! Well, eventually it became clear that everything was going to be fine. I’m sure that if I had gone (I didn’t), it would have been fine, but I didn’t want to be in the way. I don’t know how to explain it really…I just would rather be thought of as “heartless” than “in the way”. Idiotic, I know.
The ended up putting a stint in one of his arteries, and will end up putting another one in his other artery (80% blocked) sometime later (but not too much later). He was moved to a regular room yesterday and should be home in a couple days.
The one thing I worry about is the fact that my dad isn’t much of a restful person. I mean, the guy is always working. I think he works even when he’s asleep! That’s one of the things that I aim not to do (life rule: work is done at work, not home) when I have a family of my own. I’m listening to Disturbed, and they have this to say about this topic, “Num minna num manin na, num minna num manin noo”…wise words. I worry that he isn’t going to slow down. I worry that he’s going to try and work as he worked before…except this time, I worry that he won’t be so lucky.
Well…that pretty much ended my Thursday and Friday for me. Saturday, groovy and I decided that we were going to go canoeing on the Potomac River (it’s about 20 minutes West of here). We looked up this place that “was the cheapest in town”, and decided that, as they were all offering the same service, that the cheapest one would be fine. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a reason they are the cheapest in town. Well, we left for there around 1pm, after eating a light lunch at the local Quiznos, and arrived there around 1:30.
It was the most backwards place I’ve ever been to. We asked if we were going to the right place (this grey building) for canoeing, and the guy assured us we were. We get there, and the lady there said that canoeing was full for the day (Customer Service -1) and she suggested we make reservations next time. Fine, we’ll keep that in mind. She suggested we go tubing instead. Ok, sounds like that might work as all we really wanted was some relaxing time anyway. We were told (after spending $38) to go stand under this tent and wait. We wait till after 2 and these people start getting life vests and tubes. Groovy and I decided to get some also because we’ve waited a while and didn’t want to be left out. Well, this guy starts yelling at everyone and wants everyone to put everything back (Customer Service - 2). We do and get back under the tent. Ten minutes later, or maybe more…by that time, I was too frustrated to keep time…we are ordered to go get tubes and take them to the trailer then board the bus (Customer Service – 3). I state something along the lines of, “We have this cooler that I paid $5 to get a tube for.” “They’ll take care of it at the bus.” (Customer Service – 4) We board the bus and sit there for a while and the driver asks who has an ice chest. Groovy and I both raise our hands, as do some other people in the back. Well, wouldn’t you know it…when we arrived at the “launch point” (no, it’s nowhere near NASA), we didn’t have an inner tube for the cooler…but we did have a nice piece of twine! Well, it was, without a doubt, the most expensive piece of twine I’ve ever purchased. It cost me $5 for a 3 foot piece…I’m glad I didn’t ask for more.
The tubing was fairly fun, truth be told, even if the instructions on leaving weren’t clear (said as we drive along the river, “Ok, you see that spot?” *blank looks* “That’s where you get out of the river.”), and even if my back got realigned by several large rocks, and even if my ice chest (without tube, of course) got bashed against a boulder the size of a small minivan (aren’t all minivans, by definition, small?) which broke the handle off and caused the contents therein to be washed down the river…it was fun. It was cool water, but I guess that’s a given also.
Sunday, after sitting in traction for a while to fix my back (I kid, I kid), we went to this place called California Tortilla. They have, hands down, the largest selection of hot sauces and salsas that I’ve ever seen in one place. Even better, they have everything listed as to how hot it is (on a scale of 1-10). Well, I, being the idiot that I am, picked up a bottle of Dave’s Total Insanity Hot Sauce (the label reads: “Insane Heat with a Garlicky Flavor!”…believe it). I put a grand total of 6 drops in this queso and dug in. With the first drop hitting my tongue, I was hit with this surprising flavor of garlic that was, even bigger surprise, overpowered by fire. We aren’t just talking “nice and warm”, we’re talking “my scalp is sweating” and “my nose is running” and “oh my God, I don’t want to think about the next bathroom visit” hot…all rolled up into one. It’s awesome! I put 12 drops (yes, I kept track) on the taco that I was eating. Granted, I couldn’t actually taste the taco, but it was dang good! Groovy said that she was going to dip her burrito in, which she did. The whole time I’m sitting there, I’m wiping my face with napkins and she’s just sitting there laughing at me calling me a light weight. Well, after a while, I notice that she’s tearing through her chips. “Kinda going after those chips a little hard, aren’t you?” I ask with a knowing smile. She laughs and said that she had hoped I wouldn’t notice. I’m telling you, it’s hot…but it’s REAL good!!! We left there and went for a drive around the county and then back home.
Anyway, to recap: Dad had a heart attack, but is recovering nicely. We tried to drown ourselves in the Potomac (sponsored by wonderful customer service) and then we set fire to our tongues. All in all, an eventful weekend.
As all of you are aware, I severed ties between C…oops, I almost said who it was that I worked for!...on Wednesday morning. Little did I know the changes that this simple thing would bring to me.
Wednesday was probably one of the better days that I’ve had in a very long time. I mean, the world was my oyster, and…well, unlucky for me, I don’t eat oysters. Ok, the world was my bowl of ice cream, and I was going to eat it! Darn tootin. Anyway, everything seemed well in Scottsville (by the way, all the cities here in Maryland have weird names like Ladiesburg (or was it ville?), Boonsboro…well, the list could go on and on). I say “seemed” because little did I know that early the next day, my world was going to experience a shock.
Wow…how was that for a lead-in to something? I feel nervous just re-reading it. What could have happened? Who did what to whom for how many cookies?! Tune in next paragraph for the exciting conclusion of this wonderful cliffhanger!
Ok, so I woke up Thursday morning and kinda yawned once or twice. As I slowly wiped the sleep from my eyes, I noticed that someone had left a message on my phone sometime during the time that I was asleep. I check my messages, and I hear, “Scott, call me back. Your dad is in the hospital. He’s had a heart attack.” I almost dropped the phone. My dad…in the hospital…with a heart attack? Yeah, right. This isn’t April 1st! Well, it wasn’t any sort of joke…it was for real. I called my mom, but there was no answer. I called my sister, who I assumed would be at the hospital with my mom, and eventually, I was able to talk to her. He had a heart attack. 100% blockage in one artery. 15-20 minutes away from death. Lucky for me, I didn’t have a job to go to that day. I started looking up ticket prices to see if I would be able to fly to Baton Rouge. I waited most of the day before I was able to talk to anyone again, and when I finally did talk to my mom, she sounded tired (then again, who can blame her? She had been up, for all intents and purposes, since 5am the morning before), but she said that the doctors were expecting him to recover after some rest and lots of meds.
Well, Friday, I was still considering flying to Baton Rouge. I knew that I didn’t want to regret anything in life (one of my life rules, actually…regret nothing) and I didn’t want to have to tell my kids (someday) that I hadn’t seen my dad when he was in the hospital. What kind of picture would that paint of our relationship?! Well, eventually it became clear that everything was going to be fine. I’m sure that if I had gone (I didn’t), it would have been fine, but I didn’t want to be in the way. I don’t know how to explain it really…I just would rather be thought of as “heartless” than “in the way”. Idiotic, I know.
The ended up putting a stint in one of his arteries, and will end up putting another one in his other artery (80% blocked) sometime later (but not too much later). He was moved to a regular room yesterday and should be home in a couple days.
The one thing I worry about is the fact that my dad isn’t much of a restful person. I mean, the guy is always working. I think he works even when he’s asleep! That’s one of the things that I aim not to do (life rule: work is done at work, not home) when I have a family of my own. I’m listening to Disturbed, and they have this to say about this topic, “Num minna num manin na, num minna num manin noo”…wise words. I worry that he isn’t going to slow down. I worry that he’s going to try and work as he worked before…except this time, I worry that he won’t be so lucky.
Well…that pretty much ended my Thursday and Friday for me. Saturday, groovy and I decided that we were going to go canoeing on the Potomac River (it’s about 20 minutes West of here). We looked up this place that “was the cheapest in town”, and decided that, as they were all offering the same service, that the cheapest one would be fine. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a reason they are the cheapest in town. Well, we left for there around 1pm, after eating a light lunch at the local Quiznos, and arrived there around 1:30.
It was the most backwards place I’ve ever been to. We asked if we were going to the right place (this grey building) for canoeing, and the guy assured us we were. We get there, and the lady there said that canoeing was full for the day (Customer Service -1) and she suggested we make reservations next time. Fine, we’ll keep that in mind. She suggested we go tubing instead. Ok, sounds like that might work as all we really wanted was some relaxing time anyway. We were told (after spending $38) to go stand under this tent and wait. We wait till after 2 and these people start getting life vests and tubes. Groovy and I decided to get some also because we’ve waited a while and didn’t want to be left out. Well, this guy starts yelling at everyone and wants everyone to put everything back (Customer Service - 2). We do and get back under the tent. Ten minutes later, or maybe more…by that time, I was too frustrated to keep time…we are ordered to go get tubes and take them to the trailer then board the bus (Customer Service – 3). I state something along the lines of, “We have this cooler that I paid $5 to get a tube for.” “They’ll take care of it at the bus.” (Customer Service – 4) We board the bus and sit there for a while and the driver asks who has an ice chest. Groovy and I both raise our hands, as do some other people in the back. Well, wouldn’t you know it…when we arrived at the “launch point” (no, it’s nowhere near NASA), we didn’t have an inner tube for the cooler…but we did have a nice piece of twine! Well, it was, without a doubt, the most expensive piece of twine I’ve ever purchased. It cost me $5 for a 3 foot piece…I’m glad I didn’t ask for more.
The tubing was fairly fun, truth be told, even if the instructions on leaving weren’t clear (said as we drive along the river, “Ok, you see that spot?” *blank looks* “That’s where you get out of the river.”), and even if my back got realigned by several large rocks, and even if my ice chest (without tube, of course) got bashed against a boulder the size of a small minivan (aren’t all minivans, by definition, small?) which broke the handle off and caused the contents therein to be washed down the river…it was fun. It was cool water, but I guess that’s a given also.
Sunday, after sitting in traction for a while to fix my back (I kid, I kid), we went to this place called California Tortilla. They have, hands down, the largest selection of hot sauces and salsas that I’ve ever seen in one place. Even better, they have everything listed as to how hot it is (on a scale of 1-10). Well, I, being the idiot that I am, picked up a bottle of Dave’s Total Insanity Hot Sauce (the label reads: “Insane Heat with a Garlicky Flavor!”…believe it). I put a grand total of 6 drops in this queso and dug in. With the first drop hitting my tongue, I was hit with this surprising flavor of garlic that was, even bigger surprise, overpowered by fire. We aren’t just talking “nice and warm”, we’re talking “my scalp is sweating” and “my nose is running” and “oh my God, I don’t want to think about the next bathroom visit” hot…all rolled up into one. It’s awesome! I put 12 drops (yes, I kept track) on the taco that I was eating. Granted, I couldn’t actually taste the taco, but it was dang good! Groovy said that she was going to dip her burrito in, which she did. The whole time I’m sitting there, I’m wiping my face with napkins and she’s just sitting there laughing at me calling me a light weight. Well, after a while, I notice that she’s tearing through her chips. “Kinda going after those chips a little hard, aren’t you?” I ask with a knowing smile. She laughs and said that she had hoped I wouldn’t notice. I’m telling you, it’s hot…but it’s REAL good!!! We left there and went for a drive around the county and then back home.
Anyway, to recap: Dad had a heart attack, but is recovering nicely. We tried to drown ourselves in the Potomac (sponsored by wonderful customer service) and then we set fire to our tongues. All in all, an eventful weekend.
posted by LaTech at 11:59 AM
1 Comments:
say bro sounds like u had a fun time tubin...hope your dad does good prayin fer him. and hope your having good times. hit me up if u ever get bf2 biatch...laters
all the love from my pimple infected butt....
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