The federal safety authority broke my suitcase. I’ve got a world-weary suitcase that has really wracked up some miles. For at least three or four years, I’ve lived out of that suitcase for months at a time. One hatch is broken, and the case is being held together with a bungee cord. Bought at the Wal-Mart in Las Cruces. After coffee.
The class worked out well for me, but there was basically only one student. The center had scheduled another event on top of me. Didn’t hurt, I wasn’t upset, just the nature of the business.
Friday morning, first thing, I’m getting out of the shower and I hear sirens in the distance. A few minutes later, Margarita (Pisces) asks if I heard the sirens closer? I don’t know, after changing into formal wear for the day, I wander outside, the EMT & firetruck are two doors down. Don’t know, didn’t want to pester anyone.
When I showed up Friday morning at the center, I had zero bookings but a request for a reading from the director. So I step into the office, record a short reading, start messing around with next week’s column, and forget all about no business.
Clients show up, money appears, I’m back at work. In fact, I was back-to-back until 4 in the afternoon, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I like that.
From the center, it was over to the Bean for the previously alluded to cup of coffee, and from there, into rush hour traffic – such as it is – to get back to El Paso into time to….
Find the firetrucks in the neighborhood again. Makes it a hotspot?
We investigate, and there was – apparently – a pretty major house on fire, with maybe a dozen firetrucks out, and by the time we all got there, the paramedics had the rescued animals in hand. Somehow, I wound up hugging a cat, one who had been dosed with water and mselled like smoke. A pretty scared cat, with that drowned rat look – endemic only to wet cats.
So I made the news. At least I got flashed on the news, holding a cat.
The camera man walks up and tries to interview me, which I just turn around into a series of queries about him coming out on Saturday to for us to get some video publicity.
“Didn’t you talk to the reporter about that? I just saw her here (Taurus). You know, she’s the cute one with the Hispanic name, big brown eyes?”
He rolls his eyes. I’m obviously not a reliable witness.
Grace the Leo got air time, the Aries got air time, and even I got some air time on Friday’s news. See, rescuing a kitty is a big deal. I didn’t rescue a kitty, all I did was hold onto to one while the owners had their meltdown (it’s allowed).
Made the news, too, apparently. I don’t know, I didn’t see the TeeVee.
I kept bugging the camera guy, though, looking for that reporter. I’d run into her earlier, darling little Taurus, “Hey, are you guys in town this weekend?”
Sure thing. We’ll be at the Howard Johnson’s in the conference room.
We hung about the scene for close to an hour. The camera guy comes back up to me, starts an interview, and he just didn’t get, not my house, not my town. “Hey,” I asked, “where’s that reporter? You know, that cute Hispanic one?”
He didn’t get the joke.
So I was on TV, but not for work. I worked, but I’ve got a broken suitcase. Grace got a 15-minute “profile” on the news, Friday night, as well. And the Bean gives away packages of used coffee grounds, “Magic Growing Powder.”
