Of Course

Where were you at 6:15 pm this evening? I was laying on the couch staring at the ceiling. Our power went out this morning after a horrendous thunderstorm hit. When I woke up, I didn't think I would miss the power that much. Surely it would be on by the time I got home from work, and who really cares if you come into work with wet hair? When I came back at 3, no progress had been made. Random rumors from our neighbors were flying. "I heard it would be back on by 7:00 tonight." "Really? I heard midnight!" Great. I had no idea what to do. I read for a little while and took a nap. Suddenly it was 6:15, I was bored and had no place to go. I was alone to entertain myself.

I thought about what I could do. I was hungry, but couldn't go to the grocery store because the new food would go bad. Not a good idea to head back to the mall because I knew I could do some serious damage in the new boutique that just opened. I decided I would head to Walgreens and get batteries for our one flashlight. Who knew how long this outage would last? When I got to the drug store, I waited in line to be rung up. I had 12 D batteries, so we would be illuminated for days! Nope. Walgreens was not accepting credit cards. Cash or check please Ma'am. "Seriously?" I asked. "So serious," the cashier responded. We figured out if I bought 2 Walgreen batteries rather than a pack of 12 Duracells, I could get by with my $3 in cash.

What next? I called my parents. They both answered the phone. Yay! An audience. I started talking and didn't stop until my mother interrupted to tell me she was hanging up and I could talk to my dad. Dad suggested I go for I run. Nope, I am malnurished and will collapse. How about a cup of coffee? It is 7 pm dad. I will be up all night with nothing to do. "I don't know Jenny. I need to go." Bye dad.

So, I went to eat dinner at a restaurant down the road. I called my two friends to see if they wanted to meet me, but they were both busy. I called Mike on my way home and he suggested I go for a walk. I went to one of his friends' homes close to us so I could charge my phone while I walked. Once I got inside I asked if I could borrow their dog to walk with me. It was around 8:00, and I thought I might look more menacing with this dog in tow. After we walked for about a mile, I decided we should run the other mile and a half home. Now, I did not grow up with dogs and don't know what they do when you try to run them. I was getting annoyed because the dog kept trying to stop every few minutes.

Then I noticed the dog's legs were shaking. Oh no, I thought. What if this poor dog has a heart attack and I have to carry it back to his owner? I had no idea what condition this dog was in or how old it was. Probably information I should have received before I left the house. When we finally got back, I explained that I was concerned about ole Arnie's health. Arnie's owner could not believe I ran him. He just had ACL surgery on his back two legs!! No wonder they were shaking! That poor dog was basically getting dragged along while I chastised him for trying to stop!

After his owner assured me he would be ok, I headed home to take a shower in the dark. Of course, as soon as I got out, the power came back on. Now I am trying to catch up on my computer correspondence and head to bed. It is never a dull day here in St. Louis!