Having A Moment" (article) by The Bear Paw on AuthorsDen

I could have put this under a number of categories...i.e. Horror, History, Memoir, even Health/Wellness...but having moments like these requires a category all unto itself. I just chalk it up to "Drama". Hmph! Well, 24 hours has passed, and I think enough time has lapsed so that I can now talk about it. I would like to call it a "blonde moment", the kind that a lot of people refer to in a moment of stupidity. Or maybe an Alzheimer's moment, the kind that a lot of people refer to in a moment of stupidity. But I refrain from using those labels for I won't take the risk of offending anyone. So let me say that I was just "having a moment". Excited about the final results after two surgeries in sixth months and a series of tests to follow, I was on my home. Not a long drive, but it seemed long because of fear of being sick and dying finally being removed from my spirit. I wanted to shout, yell to someone, somone who knows me, someone who I know, other than my kids... but I know noone. So I cried. Celebrating moments in life has become important to me, and I decided to celebrate! Finally reaching the outskirts of my town, I decided on a strawberry/pineapple Breeze. Since Dairy Queen doesn't make "Breezes" any longer (frozen yogurt with your choice of toppings), and since there isn't a DQ close to my town, I have to make it myself. AND since I didn't have that kind of frozen yogurt, vanilla ice cream would be a good replacement, which DQ calls a "Blizzard". So I stopped at the strawberry stand. I do mean, AT the strawberry stand! I parked my car just a few feet in front. When I opened my car door, I had only three steps to take to the stand. Since I was "right there", I didn't need to take my keys, purse, phone, etc. Just take some money out of my purse, pay the guy, and go. I paid the guy, took the three steps back to my car, only to find that the car was locked. I looked. And looked again. And.....looked again. It seemed like 10 minutes had passed before I accepted the fact that I locked myself out, and everything in, the car. Even my spare key....in the car. Actually, it was only a couple of minutes that I stood there wondering how I could have done this. Hell, I still don't remember pushing the lock! But there it was. I looked to the passenger door, which is always locked when I'm flying solo. There was nothing that I could do. I sigh...I mumble something, which I didn't hear since it was only a mumble, but the guy I paid at the stand heard. He's grinning, of course....walks to his truck load of strawberries, grabs his cell phone and asks if I need to call someone. My daughter is in college, but even if she wasn't, she would be of no help with her laughing at me. There is only one other person I know that might be able to help, if he's not at work, yet. "Adrian. I have a problem." He's become used to those words from me. Anyway, he arrives 10 minutes later and parks right next to my car as if there were perfect parking lines painted in the dirt. "Why you lock keys in the car? Why you no take keys with you?" Being the Mexican that he is, I look at him and say, "I don't know! I don't remember pushing the lock!" "Well, you pay 95 dollars." "$95.00!!!!!! I don't have $95.00!!!" "Well, I pay last time. You pay this time." "I pay you!" I said, knowing that he was going to get my car unlocked. He tells me to go to the other side of the car, which was the driver's side. He leans down and looks inside the passenger window, motions me to look inside the driver's window. He points to the keys in the ignition while saying something. "Yeah! I tell you my keys are in the car." He points again to the keys in the ignition. I stand and look over the car to him, "I already know where my car keys are, Adrian!" He's still looking inside the passenger window and pointing, motioning me to look at the keys in the ignition. "SI...I ALREADY KNOW WHERE MY KEYS ARE!" He stands straight up, looks over the car to me and yells, "WHY YOU NO OPEN YOUR CHICKEN EYES?" I think he said this twice; the first time waving his arms like Mexicans do when their yelling; the second time as he reached down and opened the passenger door. He reaches in, grabs the keys out of the ignition, walks to the back of the car. As he hands me the keys, he says, "Why you no check everything? Open your chicken eyes!?!? 'Oh, I lock my keys in the car!' 'Oh, I have problem.' And you wait ten minutes, for what? Did you check and make sure the trunk is lock? Here, I think you need these." Was he making fun of me? I take my keys and say, "Don't do that to me!" and I start crying. "Get in car.." Adrian sighs as he gets in the passenger side, leaving his door open. After I get in, he asks me if I'm okay. "YES! NO! I mean, you don't know how scared I've been. And I just come from the doctor and I was going to celebrate and look...." and I'm crying and give him the paper with the results. "No, No, don't cry! Don't cry! Geez!!!!" he says as he throws his cap on the floorboard. "Look! That guy is laughing..." I don't look, but had already felt the presence of a very tall, older white guy buying strawberries. Here we are...a Mexican, a white guy, and an Indian...all laughing at the Indian. "I have to go work now," Adrian says in a hurry. "I have to go, but I follow you so you have no more problem, okay?" Still crying, I follow him, but as we approach the stoplight, my phone rings. It's Adrian. "You have problem?" "No, Adrian. I have no more problem. But I'm very sorry to bother you. I'm sooooo sorry." "No, no problem! When you have problem, you call me, anytime, anyplace, you call me, I help you, okay? See how easy it is? Hey! Why you say you lock keys in car when you no lock keys in car?" Was he making fun of me?

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