title

Having escaped the enchanting spell of our young Mormon missionary without a betraying drool to expose the battle between the flesh and the spirit I finish up the bills and prepare to depart the library.

Due to the Labor Day holiday magazines are one day late arriving and the Bookery usually has the files pulled by around 2:30 pm. Hopefully Jim and Loretta will be home by then but my private guess is 4 pm (based on routine experience). The long suffering wife calls me and we discuss lunch options. At first I told her to meet me downtown but she wanted to change clothes -- she wears scrubs for class so I tell her I'll come and pick her up.

I decide Long John Silver's hasn't been dined at in quite awhile -- a choice I will regret in about 15 minutes. The day is NOT quite over yet for strange ladies I did not invite into my parlour though ignorance will always be blissful.

I pick Ruth up and LJS is only five minutes away and everything is fine. I regale her with my latest adventure in meeting but losing charming women in my life with the usual "That's nice'" with a comment ot two from her on what their belief system is and isn't. For me it's the total lack of focus on the Lord Christ then an attempt to glarmorize America with their own homegrown prophet and we leave it at that.

We go thru the line, order a meal and then tragedy strikes. In getting my drink glass and looking around for the soda dispenser I accidently make that oh so important eye contact with a young but slightly overweight lady at a table by said dispenser with a strange contraption parked next to her that looked like a combination stroller/walker apparatus. Worse I was smiling when I glanced her way and she begins talking to me. Resembles Rosie Odonnell but cuter.

Oh great bad enough Ruth knows I flirt with Rachel, ogle Angie and avoid Joyce--let alone carry on at work--so much for a Christian witness--mine is more like I'm Christian and flawed and I know it and NOT trying to say I'm better then you. (NOTE: God is impressed with none of this and wishes I would grow up.) Now I have a perfect stranger yapping at me like I'm a long lost friend that owes her money. (P.S.--No Joyce did not come by to pay up--one more week and I'm sure Ruth and I are off that hook.)

This young lady comments on the location of the dispenser. So far so good. I thank her and make mistake number two. Take a table in front of her facing her, Ruth's back to her. For some reason the eye contact can't be broke or rather her jaws keep up a chatter which will be explained in 30 seconds.

She declares in rapid succession that she has been hit by cars several times (I swear she said 5) that has caused her to lose complete peripheral vision when she crosses a sidewalk. Also she has had an operation that removed half her brain--surely the most vocal brain recovery I had ever seen flashbacking to a young airman back in the Grand Forks days who went on a tragic joyride and is pretty much a vegetable now these 30 years and gone. I express the proper condolences, glance at Ruth who is never comfortable with strangers (she warms up after awhile--I'm a little better at this but less interested these days). She finally runs out of chatter. Mercifully there is clean-up guy at Long John who's sole purpose seems to be to clear you out of the table as fast as he can and he disposes of her meal. She loads her cart or whatever it was and departs without a farewell (one prayer answered) and that's the last of the unique ladies for today.

At about 2:20 pm I'm getting antsy about checking the file at the Bookery. I know from newsrama.com that Jonah Hex 23 will be out this week and there is a chance the new Shadow reprint volume will be out--it wasn't, next week for sure we hope. Ruth informs me Jim finally checked in--he had been in Springfield getting set up for the custody hearing Friday and was 20 mins out.

I weigh the options--kids I haven't seen for almost a year; a six-week year old grand-daughter I have never seen, 20 minute arrival time vs. Jonah Hex comics and $80 worth of stuff.

*******

Well of course I went to the Bookery. How did you not see that coming?? The Countess knew it before I typed it. Virgil suspected, KizPaws is too nice to say it and Meg hoped I'ld stay home. Andave Ya and Grace 86 are constantly reevaluating my spiritualness--he's says he's a believer but he's so shallow and selfish??!!

Ah but we serve a living Lord and there is reasons for everything that happens. God's timing is everything. One- Jim is never on time. He was five minutes late and I was back five minutes after that. A book I knew he would badly want had arrived at last--was running late. The Phantom Chronicles (published by Moonstone)--17 prose stories about the first costumed character from newspaper comics and Jim loves the Phantom. His birthday is next Wednesday but he and family will be back in California--Ft Irwin by then. Book bought and paid for and made his birthday nicer. I had gotten him a Monopoly Game based on the Transformers. Also bought him while he was here the Dr. Strange animated DVD that was recently released. Dr. Strange is an old favorite Marvel character of mine that just doesn't sell enough to stay in print continuously. Quality before quanity.

I come home to appluase and a crying baby. I pick her up and do the only trick I know--rock them back and forth and sing TV theme songs to them or hum--Wild, Wild West is particularly good at steadying the nerves, along with Rockford Files; Secret Agent Man sung then Bellafonte's Banana Boat Song and Cool Water. Mari Grace falls asleep and the Lord has given me a life long memory to ease the time and distance ahead.

Pt. 3: The Custody Hearing--No news is No News--You'll see.