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Finally got old friend Jerry formally of Merced CA now residing in a log cabin at Rogue River OR and discussed the seeming reversal of fortunes that has occured. Proper sympathies made but strangly unwilling to have a house guest that never gets around to leaving for the rest of my uneventful but odd life. Sigh--friends SAY they love you.

Great news on his part. After dreaming of it for decades he is going with a tour group to Israel for a month. He and a couple will split from the group about 10 days into the tour and go off on their own to see more of the country. He is excited and humble at this privilege to see the real Biblical lands.

For my part I spend the night online with a friend discussing the ramifications of my possible life change. She has been a dear friend who will be off to medical school over in Europe next month so our time together will be somewhat curtailed until her schedule sorts itself out.

Thursday arrives and I leave the house at 10:20 am to see how fast I can get rid of $890. Less then two hours as it happens. I withdraw the paychecks from the credit union and delight the male cashier (a newbie) and two of the ladies with my safe state of affairs. The fun in this visit is always reminding one of the ladies that the other is extremely possesive and jealous of any attention paid me and to watch her back. I then advise the male cashier (Paul) to stay out of the way and watch for a knife in the right hand or a gun about to fired. Ah drama. The one cashier laughs and reminds me I have a very nice wife. I receive encouragement and move on.

A gasoline fill up is next and goes without incident. Cashland and Angie is in my future and they too agonize on my life changes yet still are assured that they are still my source of money orders (I don't do checks). More flirting ensues and everyone seems to be too much aware of the Long Suffering Spouse and laugh when I tell them I will soon own the rear fender of Ruth's car.

A trip to the City of Fairborn to pay monthly utilities bill puts me across the street from the Post Office where I prepare the money orders and bid February bills farewell. The Bookery receives a pittance and I go to seek out nourshment.

McDonalds is settled for and I anticipate reading Dark Avengers #2. Imagine Norman Osborn leading his own team of Avengers look-a-likes protecting Dr. Doom no less for their first mission. Fun tiitle that truthfully I was NOT expecting anything worth reading being jaded over the years by stunt writing.

This particular pursuit of the hobby tales a back seat as my deacon is eating alone so I join him and shamelessly cloy for attention. Mission accomplished and we discuss my intermittment church attendance a bit in which I carefully avoid making promises I have no plans to keep. Fellowship issues--many of them--not all my fault.

Home to the Mrs. where I inform her I'm not job hunting as she can support me and be me for a few years. This joke goes over like a Jerry Lewis movie (has there ever been a good one?) so I back off after a grumble and go read for awhile.

Marriage benefits come to mind but once again the Long Suffering One escapes to her call to duty so since the weather is chilly and the house likewise I suppose it's time to go to work a little early and check in and find out what is really going on.

My strategy is simple. I arrive one hour early and drop a magazine off for Sam--a Ghost Whisperer comic for her birthday--issue three of a five parter (must get all this minuae down for Logos when she writes her book entitled Trials and Tribulations of a Moderator for Ecccentric Old Dudes. The atmosphere is very quiet and I discover the reason later. Brandy and Tami had had a major blow-up over attitudes with each other earlier. I reaped the benefit by being very well treated later by Tami when I went out on a limb and make a nice decision that was bad financially for AAA which I thought would work out in my favor. Which it did--one hook dislodged.

But back to the job. I hike across the street to the main building and spend time making Megan the Human Resources monitor laugh at my flirting and walking down memory lane over the past years to discover that management is reasonably certain our jobs are safe as THEY are intact. Apparently we have been consolidated with the parent company (which bought Cincinnati) and are going to be allowed to maintain our independence--for now. If any one has any wories it will be travel agents. Unknown to me our AAA is #4 in customer service among all the AAA clubs. Nice to know sweet talking members pays off now and then.

I then go visit Debbie who is head of the call center department and we go down memory lane again and she is more vocal in assuring that we are probably safe for a good while to come.

I decide to relax a bit and wait and see--and work the bills.