"Thank God for health insurance". Something that I am sure that you must say on a daily basis. Not me, I'd rather thank the gods for something else entirely. Happiness, good fortune, basil.
Basil? Yeah, I have my own personal connection.
A few times a year the Karakas girls come through the library to let me know how their crops are doing. "Would you like to buy some lettuce?" they asked me a few years ago. Certainly, I told them. So I took a walk after work and found them outside their family's bike shop, peddling their wares, and bought five dollars worth of garden fresh greens. These days they grow basil for me exclusively. I think it's grand that they would be so industrious at such a young age, but it seems that the whole family is pretty much a bunch of happy entreprenuers.
But funny how that basil crop has led to other things. I was at the desk today when their mom came in. She had just come back from the courthouse with a renewed license in hand. I had to ask her what kind, and she told me it was to sell insurance. Not only does she homeschool, work with the Census but she sells health insurance, too. Wow, what a hustler! Well, she had to pass along her business card to me, just so she could feel good about having just spent fifty dollars and ten cents on that renewal fee. I figured I would give her one of my KRL cards, too. After we exchanged them I looked down and pretty much stopped in my tracks. I recognized the name of the business, the layout of the card.
It was then that she told me that she worked for The Detective. I suppose there was a certain dazed look on my face when I saw that card that she was just kind enough to fill in with information. "Oh, and did you know that he's M's husband? You remember M, don't you? She used to work here."
Gosh, what a question. Truly, a million dollar question if there ever was one.
Of course, I told her. I even told her that you were one of my favorite people, one of the finest women I've ever known.
I'm sorry to say that I wasn't so kind when it came to your fella. I told her that I didn't think he was a very nice man. She responded that she knew nothing about that, but thought that he was a very ethical businessman. Well, I responded that I knew nothing about that, but that my impression of him still stood.
I had to side step quickly out of that trap. Nevermind about that, I said, how nice it was for you to be able to.....blah, blah, blah. My face, demeanor, attitude, everything crashed in an instant so I had to shift quickly in order to avoid a major faux pas, in order to help keep that basil rolling in. I held my own until she left, walked her to the door while I checked out another patron complaint and told her to say hello to you whenever she sees you again.
But I must say that I would give anything to be there when she slips and mentions to her boss, in some sideways manner, that she saw me today. Will she pass along that hello to you to him? Will his blood pressure go up like mine did? Will he need a good long hard run to kick out all those bad enzymes coursing their way through his veins? Will he wonder how it was that his world got to be so gawd damn small?
All I know is that I have R's card in my wallet bearing that business name of his, the one that helps support your life and your household's bottom line. For your sake and the sake of your girls I truly hope that the money always rolls in. But for me, what I have in my wallet is the equivilent of a card coated with Kryptonite, a device that could do me some serious damage if I didn't already know how to defuse it. It is funny how the world got to be so small. I'm glad that I already have health insurance. I'm sure I would have needed it after all that.
It is a small world, M. But the bigger object lesson today was I became reaquainted with the fact that anything can happen. Maybe someday I'll get lucky and it'll be you walking through that door instead of one your husband's insurance agents. Maybe you'll step up to the desk, pass the time of day with me and ask me how my basil is growing. Maybe I'll give you one of my cards, and you'll give me one of yours. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Yeah, come on over and I'll pull together that wonderful tomato, mozarella and basil platter I love so much. We're long overdue for long chat and a slow suppper. Think of it as health insurance we both could use, something we both need right now..
Your WHMB
Basil? Yeah, I have my own personal connection.
A few times a year the Karakas girls come through the library to let me know how their crops are doing. "Would you like to buy some lettuce?" they asked me a few years ago. Certainly, I told them. So I took a walk after work and found them outside their family's bike shop, peddling their wares, and bought five dollars worth of garden fresh greens. These days they grow basil for me exclusively. I think it's grand that they would be so industrious at such a young age, but it seems that the whole family is pretty much a bunch of happy entreprenuers.
But funny how that basil crop has led to other things. I was at the desk today when their mom came in. She had just come back from the courthouse with a renewed license in hand. I had to ask her what kind, and she told me it was to sell insurance. Not only does she homeschool, work with the Census but she sells health insurance, too. Wow, what a hustler! Well, she had to pass along her business card to me, just so she could feel good about having just spent fifty dollars and ten cents on that renewal fee. I figured I would give her one of my KRL cards, too. After we exchanged them I looked down and pretty much stopped in my tracks. I recognized the name of the business, the layout of the card.
It was then that she told me that she worked for The Detective. I suppose there was a certain dazed look on my face when I saw that card that she was just kind enough to fill in with information. "Oh, and did you know that he's M's husband? You remember M, don't you? She used to work here."
Gosh, what a question. Truly, a million dollar question if there ever was one.
Of course, I told her. I even told her that you were one of my favorite people, one of the finest women I've ever known.
I'm sorry to say that I wasn't so kind when it came to your fella. I told her that I didn't think he was a very nice man. She responded that she knew nothing about that, but thought that he was a very ethical businessman. Well, I responded that I knew nothing about that, but that my impression of him still stood.
I had to side step quickly out of that trap. Nevermind about that, I said, how nice it was for you to be able to.....blah, blah, blah. My face, demeanor, attitude, everything crashed in an instant so I had to shift quickly in order to avoid a major faux pas, in order to help keep that basil rolling in. I held my own until she left, walked her to the door while I checked out another patron complaint and told her to say hello to you whenever she sees you again.
But I must say that I would give anything to be there when she slips and mentions to her boss, in some sideways manner, that she saw me today. Will she pass along that hello to you to him? Will his blood pressure go up like mine did? Will he need a good long hard run to kick out all those bad enzymes coursing their way through his veins? Will he wonder how it was that his world got to be so gawd damn small?
All I know is that I have R's card in my wallet bearing that business name of his, the one that helps support your life and your household's bottom line. For your sake and the sake of your girls I truly hope that the money always rolls in. But for me, what I have in my wallet is the equivilent of a card coated with Kryptonite, a device that could do me some serious damage if I didn't already know how to defuse it. It is funny how the world got to be so small. I'm glad that I already have health insurance. I'm sure I would have needed it after all that.
It is a small world, M. But the bigger object lesson today was I became reaquainted with the fact that anything can happen. Maybe someday I'll get lucky and it'll be you walking through that door instead of one your husband's insurance agents. Maybe you'll step up to the desk, pass the time of day with me and ask me how my basil is growing. Maybe I'll give you one of my cards, and you'll give me one of yours. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Yeah, come on over and I'll pull together that wonderful tomato, mozarella and basil platter I love so much. We're long overdue for long chat and a slow suppper. Think of it as health insurance we both could use, something we both need right now..
Your WHMB
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