NOW and THEN

UPCOMING SCOOTER TRIP

Early next week
I go to seek
God and his peeps
And in my blind'
What do I find?
A toll booth!

"Get off this red Highway
Drive on the "Blue" By-way
Make it to the Maker
--Be giver, not taker"

These words said
By Flex my Angel
And One other, too:

"I LOVE YOU!"

--steveroni

Flash Friday Fiction 55 (click HERE) is hosted by the G-man. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. And let HIM know!

ONE BEAUTIFUL DAY

A friend gave me a foot-long cutting from an Angel Trumpet tree. All I did was stick it in the ground and water it, and talk to it. The odor it emits at night is SO like Jasmine, even more close to honeysuckle. and it covers the neighborhood with its beautiful smells. Angel statue is a reminder of my Guardian angel Flex (flexible).

Do not touch your monitor. This plant is poisonous!

ONE BEAUTIFUL DAY!

When Anna bought her motor scooter (Yamaha Morphous 250cc) she also bought a "Maintenance Agreement" which would over the course of 3 years, save her a few hundred bucks. Salesman said "With this card, you will be pushed always to the front of the line for service." And that HAS been our experience with other bikes, other dealers.

It took an hour to travel to the dealer in Ft Myers, and we figured to have a nice lunch, pick up the bike and head for home. NOT! Service man told us we could have our "vehicle back in 48". I said, "You mean between 4 and 8 PM?" NOT! he meant 'come back in 48 hours'. Well, that's 2 days. If my only means of transportation is my bike, I'm in deep doo-doo.

It's a 39.3 mile walk back to Naples.

OFF-BLOG:

In Marathon terminology, that's THREE "half-marathons" (13.1 miles each half!). I'm really grinning (yeah, right!) over this business of a non-runner--couple days ago--writing a comment implying that running a half marathon is like doing something only halfway. When the BS quits flying, it begins to pile up. I know about these things. -grin- (I used to drive the team pulling the manure spreader!)

BACK ON BLOG:

We tried to obtain a refund of (well, the whole $799) and the manager and owner said "NOT!"

But they finally did take care of us--in a fashion--and I could see some problems among the staff behind the service desk...service???

Here's the part where AA paid off. We had already been there an hour and our paperwork had not even been attempted. I told the manager that he and I were very fortunate. When he asked Why, that was my cue: I told him that 35 years ago, he would have called the police by this time. And I would have been on my way to the Ft Myers jail, and quite a few really beautiful big bikes would have been destroyed.

Because I used to go berserk over matters of this magnitude. And I told him what Alcoholics Anonymous did for me (and today, for him, better believe it!). He smiled. I think we could become friends.

If I am a "meeting-goer", who sits there day after day (enjoying the AA 'show') and simply just doesn't drink, the end of my day would have had a different outcome. But I am a meeting goer AND a "step taker". That has taught me over many years, to ask myself the question, "Just how important Is It?"

And I ask my Higher Power for help. And He does help. And adversity can be turned into a learning experience for all involved.

pissedoff-a-roni?


Lagniappe!
Picked up a nail in MY rear bike tire. "Service Dept. Mgr." said $300 for new tire, plus $70 to install it. Biker Friend, also World Renouned Phtography Expert Jim H. "plugged" it...for FREE! Saved us $370+tax. Thank you friend. Thank You, God!

Please understand that the best part of this event was not the 'saved' $370+tax...but being with a guy I like, if only for 15 minutes. With a really 'cool' guy, yes, a friend. WWW="What a Wonderful World"