Pushing Cars...Extending a Hand

Yesterday, I was coming home from school, a little giddy because spring break had started, and I stopped to gas up my car. As I pulled into the station, I saw a young man (I'm guessing 18 years old, maybe) pushing his car into the parking lot, and I had to swerve a little to miss him since he was right next to the entrance.


I got out and started pumping my gas, and as I did so, he was pushing his car back and forth by himself. He'd open his car door, turn the steering wheel a bunch, then push, then mess with the wheels again, then push. Back and forth, back and forth, his car kept moving and he kept adjusting it.


While I continued to pump my gas, I watched as other patrons - all men - came and went as this kid kept up his car maneuvering. Then I realized - no one was going to help him. Not one person even looked his way. I'm standing there pump in hand, looking around, thinking, "Hello, people, help this kid already, geez! I am so not buying that you don't see he needs help."

Luckily, I wasn't wearing a skirt and heels, so when I finished, I went over to him, and said, "Hold on," and put both my hands up to stop him from whatever the heck he was trying to do. "What are you trying to do here?"

He told me then that the gas tank was on the other side of his car, so he needed to get the car up as close as possible to the pumps. So, yes, me....the fat, 40++ old lady, helped the kid push his car. Believe it or not, this was the first time I'd ever pushed a car in my life. I was always the one inside the car turning the wheel....Hey, girls to do not push cars in my world. But, I'm glad I stepped into this other world for a little while because he was very grateful, and it made me feel very good, even a little strong, ha.

And to those men who ignored him, shame on you!
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I am just doing a test of uploading an image in this post.

I think this picture is so pretty, so I decided to add this one today.

Notice how the text is wrapping to the side.

How about adding a link? This is a site where you can get free images.

Happy 2008!

Other than the fact that I've been too busy to blog lately, Blogger.com has decided to force me to use a different log in just about every time I access my account here. Wordpress is looking pretty good, folks!

But, it is a good thing that I gave up my other little blogging gigs because I've been cranking away on the books and now on school stuff to get ready for the big day soon.

Other than writing my fingers to the bones, I've been busy getting organized, and this happens to be my general goal for 2008 (other than continue to inch this weight off...15 lbs down...20 to go). It's not that I'm that unorganized, but when it comes to stuff around the house, I tend to work in organized chaos.

I received a purse organizer from my sis for xmas and that sort of got it going in my closet. That followed with me buying a shoe rack, and wow, it is amazing how much room I have in my closet now. I also tossed out a lot of old clothes. I was brutal. I tossed out anything I hadn't worn for the past year at least once, and I now have two boxes of stuff for the Am Vet's next visit. Of course, that teamed with the new job and the fact that I'm down one size required that I do some clothes shopping on the web. So, I probably replaced everything I chucked out.

The next big house organization is going to be our family room, or as we call it the dog room. It's an 18x24 ft room that opens out to a large porch, and our dogs pretty much hang out there during the day. It's got our one and only working TV, one of my bead work areas in the corner, and furniture that came over on the Mayflower. My husband has resigned himself to the fact that the beads will probably stay, though I'm not sure of this myself and may move them all into my office since I usually am writing as I make jewelry for my site and for my books. Therea are just about beads and jewelry making stuff in almost every room of the house now, and that includes our guest bath, which I've turned into my temporary metal clay studio.

Whether my beads stay in the dog room or not, I'm looking into some craft organizers like the one pictured here from Best Craft Organizer.com. These babies aren't cheap, but boy, they sure look nice and organized! Of course, I've got way more stuff than would fit in something like this, but it's a possible place to start.




Well, I've got to get back to the school stuff. I'm this far from finishing up my last syllabus. Shew! Have a wonderful New Year, and if you are looking for an easy black eyed pea recipe, check out the one I posted last year here at fatand40. I will be throwing mine together tonight so they are ready in the morning for us to nibble on throughout the day.

Welcome 2 October!

I love this time of the year! My two favorite months are October and March. One reason is due to the weather. About now, the temperature in Florida is starting to change. It's very subtle, but while it still gets into the mid-80s down here, you just don't sweat as much as you usually do. In fact, at 8:30 this morning, it was 74 degrees! The wind is blustering and it's been raining some, so to us natives, it really is starting to feel like fall.

Another reason I like October is because of Halloween. I spent most of my childhood wearing costumes of some sort as I was always pretending to be someone else, so I have a fondness for Halloween in general. It's too bad we lose that affinity for pretending when we grow up. Today I have a lot of school work to do since I have class tomorrow, and I've got a new jewelry book I'm working on that I hope to bang out a few more pages on. Maybe today while I'm working, I'll pretend that I'm actually a world famous novelist and that instead of grading essays, I'm actually making the finishing touches to my latest novel manuscript.

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