Full Up

The weather was great, the drive was beautiful, and I was going to lunch at my friend Arden's.  That's a winning combo, for sure.  Arden used to live right across the road and we would share a meal at one another's house once in awhile.  Neither of us is the kaffeeklatsch type, but it was nice knowing she was there.  Arden's snug little house in P'ville has memorabilia from her years of living in Mexico and her trip to Morocco, and other lovely works of art.  Arden can say, as few others can, that she has been to Borneo to work with orphaned gorillas.  She's an avid reader and we swap favorite books.  It's needless to add that we never run out of topics of conversation.  Arden is the Queen of Soup.  Yesterday's offering was a hearty split pea with brown rice and chunks of carrot, with grilled kielbasa on the side.  It was darned near as good as the company.  Audrey is Arden's little dog of mixed heritage, with liquid brown eyes and fur like a cloud.  Audrey can play me like a violin and knows just the lightest touch of her paw will get me to pet her.  I miss Audrey too.

Gasoline prices being what they are, I try not to let the truck's tank get below half full; it would be embarrassing to keel over in the station to see the total if I had to fill an empty tank.  Something weird is going on.  I knew the big Chevron station had closed, so went out of my way to find the big Shell station.  It, too, had closed!  What the heck?  There are any number of little independent gas stations in town, and some larger, like Valero, but they don't have their own credit cards and don't take checks.  Who carries that much cash?  Since my days as a consultant I've had cards for every major gas company so regardless of where I was or the condition of my wallet I could always fill up my vehicle.  Good grief, if everyone has to start bankrolling their gas tank with cash, I envision a return of highwaymen on the roads, "Give me all your gas money!"  I finally found a tiny, two-pump Chevron station with difficult access; getting back across the busy road when leaving was taking my life in my hands.

At the end of the day, my heart, my tummy, and my tank were full.  It was a good day.