I woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday again, but this time I
didn’t fight it, I embraced it! I got ready and then left early to go to Home
Depot. I picked up some Liquid Nails, some shellac, a one-inch brush and some
Stabil for the mower gas (I used the last of mine). Then I went to work and got
there 20 minutes early, as well.
I took an early lunch and left work at 10:00 a.m. for the Secretary
of State’s office in Westland. I waited for just over 55 minutes (which was
what Jake predicted) and spent most of that time wondering why in the hell I
didn’t bring a book!
They finally called my number and I went up, armed with my
photos of the bike. I gave her the title
and she asked for the bill of sale. I said I didn’t have one as he gave it to
me. She said, “Well, you still have to pay taxes on the value” and I said I
understood. I said, “That’s the problem! I have pictures of the bike. It’s all
in rusty pieces; I’ll show you.” She said “I don’t need to see pictures! What
do you think those ‘pieces’ are worth?” I said, “Maybe $500.00?” So, she
charged me $30 tax and, with the title fee and the late fee, I got out of there
for $60.00. I thanked her and she said, “Have fun working on your bike!” Nice
lady…
Whew! But, all that crap in the garage is officially mine!
I thought I’d stop and get some food to eat at work. Since
its down that way, I stopped at Wendy’s (my second time ever). I thought I
remembered them advertising a chicken sandwich on one of those pretzel buns. If
not, I figured I’d get another one of those bacon burgers.
But, when I pulled up, all the “pretzel” bun sandwich signs
had a piece of paper on them that said, “No Longer Available.” I asked the
server what was going on. She said the pretzel bun promotion ended on Sunday!
Now what do I do? I don’t eat at Wendy’s! I don’t know what
to order and there are people behind me in line!! So, I just got their
cheeseburger combo meal. By the time I got back to work and started eating it,
both the burger and the fries were cold. Sigh…
The afternoon seemed to take forever, since it started at
11:30 a.m. instead of 1:00. During that stretch, I remembered my Brother Carl praising
Wendy’s chili and their baked potato. But, it was too little, too late.
When I got home, I retrieved the trashcan and went inside. I
treated the cats and hurriedly changed clothes. I got back outside with just
enough light to see the screws on the pumpkin. So, I took it down and put it in
the garage.
Then I started drilling holes in the books (forgive me,
Mother). I would take my yardstick to determine the approximate middle and
clamp the book on each end with two blocks of wood. Then I drilled a 3/8-inch
hole in each.
I did write down the titles and the copyright year of each
book. I figured I owed them that. The copyrights ranged from 1892 to 1953.
Then I did the top book (the tricky one). I drilled five smaller
holes under the front cover (where they will be hidden) and then the 3/8-inch one from the bottom up
halfway. After putting a piece of wax paper under the book, I filled the five
smaller holes with Liquid Nails. Then I clamped the book down tight. I’ll let
it set for 24 hours and see if this one stays flat.
Back inside, I made a nice side salad out of head lettuce,
onions and celery and topped that with the last of my store-bought Italian dressing.
Then I ate a chicken potpie I heated in the microwave. Good dinner!
I watched some TV, but fell asleep watching it. When I woke
up it was after 11:00, so I shut everything off and went to bed for real.
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