Jinxed Saturdays

I woke at five, as is normal for me now that I have acclimated to central time. After a couple of quick coffees I headed off to see if I could find the local farmer's market. After getting one house down the road I turned back. I had forgotten to grab some bags and a hankie (for wiping sweat off me). Back on the road a minute later I headed off with few qualms. Heck, I had all my directions printed so I knew where to turn and how far to walk (3.4 miles). And the walk went well. I now know where the police hide, where the Denton County correctional facility is, where the courthouse is, where the bail bondsman are, and more. The town is clearly a mix between a county seat, a farming center, and a college town. It should be an interesting mix I think. I wonder if there are some great bar fights here. Not that I will ever know, but it might be worth putting in a story/poem don't you think?

Any way, from what I have seen Texas is not that much different from other parts of North America. Once you have seen one paved parking lot, you have seen them all. The blight of strip malls along major highways is also far to common to be able to say that it is interesting. The names change, but the ugliness remains the same.

The farmer's market is tiny, with only half a dozen people selling, though that might change as the day goes on. I did get some interesting foods (onions, tomatoes, potatoes, leeks, beets, Swiss chard, and a parsnip) that I will be eating for a few days.

After leaving the farmer's market, I decided to slip down to another store to get some of the things we needed but I could not get at the market. The store I was looking for kept avoiding me (it must have been sneaking around back alleys because I did not see it on the main streets). I knew I was not that far from the Kroger's I went to last Saturday (first day in Denton), so I decided to walk there. I took a few minutes to check out the Ace and bring home a bright bulb for the garage and a new hand cultivator for the front flower beds. The bulb in the garage was just 100 watts and the place was dark enough to ensure a spider's ecstasy.

Grocery shopping went smoothly, and I even bought some frozen stuff anticipating a quick return home. Last Saturday, the taxi picked me up 15 minutes after I called and I was home shortly there after.

This morning, however, was a different story. I called, the taxi man says, sorry, we only have one cab on duty (the dispatcher driving that one), it is doing a round trip, and there is another pick up after that (no idea where it is going). The best I can say is it will take an hour (or more), do you want to be put on the list? I grumbled, but from previous experience with the cab company (AA Taxi)it would be much more than that. I said no. I thought about lugging the bags home by hand, but figured that was impossible (big can of cat litter among other things) and began pushing the cart home.

3.1 miles later, and a little grumpy cussing (the local bus service does not start running until after 10 am on Saturdays) I return home wet from sweat and with rather sore feet. I put the cart up to the front door, open it, drag in one bag, turn around and the cart is rumbling down the front lawn heading for the street. I lunge and skippy trot to catch it before it gets too far (cussing at Carol for not coming to the door when I arrived), and get the cart back to the front door. This time I wedge the cart securely into the door before beginning to unload once more.

A knock knock comes from the garage. Carol had seen the garage door open, stepped into the garage looking for kitties closed the door to keep the one in the house in the house, and locked her self in. She had been sitting there for at least half an hour (needing to use the bathroom and considering possibilities) waiting for me to come home.

So, now we have a grocery cart in our garage (I will have to push that back Monday). After getting everything stored and a bit to eat, I had a long hot bath. My feet thanked me for that (they still do). I am feeling mostly recovered now, and am almost prepared to laugh.

We bought the car, a 2001 Kia, and in a few days I will be on the road again. Look out Texas!

I am reluctant to open the freezer and investigate the popsicles. I suspect they will be rather interestingly shaped.

If anyone is looking for a business opportunity, I think you could do quite well by opening a taxi company in Denton. One cab for a town of 80, 000, ridiculous.