Well Good Morning Friends and Neighbors. Just what has been happening in your world this past week? I trust everyone has survived the heat and humidity sweeping the nation. For us in Eastern Iowa, our weather broke Friday. Friday evening was the usual severe thunderstorm that accompany a break in the hot and humid weather. Daughter Debby, the younger elder or whatever, and some friends went to the Great Jones County Fair in Monticello, Iowa to attend a Lady Antebellum (sp) concert. I thought this was just a southern music group but I guess not. The concert was abbreviated by a deluge of water and some really severe lightening. Their group ran 3 blocks to the car and were not really surprised that they got drenched. She has spent the days since trying to dry out her car seats and to eradicate the accompanying musty smell. Good luck with that!
As this drama was playing out, my current wife and I were doggie sitting the Grandpugs for her. They seemed to have a really good time. Unbeknown to me our other daughter Jenny, the elder, was fighting with the rain water gushing in a basement window. Apprently due to clogged gutters. Yep, I got the call to help at 9:45 pm and yes she had water gushing. The bad thing was this window was right next to the fuse panel and an outlet. It was tense for a while. I hustled to the other daughters and got the extension ladder. During a lull in the rain, we scurried out and successfully unclogged the gutters. Oh, what a relief it was. She was trying to pack for RAGBRAI. I was to pick her up at 6:30 am the next morning. Long story short, she got packed, I picked her up and delivered to the teams departure point. Debby was dry, as were her friends that stayed with her, although they were wrinkled like prunes. Life is good or so I thought.
Sunday morning, after church, my current wife and I left for Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa. We are attending a week long Synod School. This is an annual Presbyterian school. Sue, my current wife, has attended twice before, once with daughter Jenny and once with daughter Debby. Apparently it was my turn to accompany her this year. Actually, they had all been working me pretty hard ever since last year's school. I finally broke after 3 women brainwashed me for a year. So here I am. I have never been here so that is interesting. It is a nice campus but I really feel sorry for the students that live on campus. We are staying in the dorms. Actually, we are staying in what is generously called "suite". This is a unit with 3 rooms and a common room. The rooms are sparse as you can imagine, typical of a college dorm room. The room has 2 single beds, 2 plastic chairs, 2 dressers and 2 desks. There is a bath room. It accommodates one at a time. The shower is soooo small; don't even think about two of you taking a shower at the same time. If you know what I mean. It just won't work.
We were told that linens and towels would be furnished. We made our bed with supplied sheets. I didn't think they could make sheets this small. They are so short they cannot be tucked in at the ends. Made for a not so comfy night. Our room was NOT equipped with the "supplied" towel/wash cloth set as promised. That point was real comforting as I made this discovery with sweat pouring down my cheeks after moving in. I went to blow my nose. Yep, guessed it, NO tissues. We got back to our rooms after supper and an evening program to find that our towels had arrived after our complaint to officialdom. I jumped into the shower to feel fresh once again. Jump isn't quite right. I sidled into the shower tube. I can turn around but don't try to bend over. It ain't gonna happen. The shower is so small that when you turn the water on you can not avoid the shower stream. This shower as with most has a lever you turn from cold to hot. Okay, so here I am ensconced in this shower tube dressed in only my manliness. Turn the lever. Yep, you guessed it, cold water hitting my chest. I about went into cardiac arrest. Firmly against the wall with the shower head pushed away from me as far as possible, I was able to minimize the cold spray against my body. However, I had to stand like this for several minutes until the warm water arrived. It did arrive finally in the form of scalding hot blistering mist. I next had to try to regulate the lever in such a way as to find a middle ground. Several times I went from ice cold to scalding hot until I found the balance.
Okay, I lather up, softening that salty sweaty crust that forms and feeling pretty good now despite the scalding water blisters and the erratic heart beat from the ice cold water. I am beginning to rinse everything off. Rinse isn't quite right. Let's say, dampness covered my body and some of the dirty old soap was partially removed. This turned out to be one of the longest showers I have ever taken. I couldn't figure out how to get completely rinsed off with the measly stream of water coming out and not being able to bend or maneuver in any way. I took so long that my current wife fell asleep watching TV. No, that is not right. There is no TV. Go figure. She did fall asleep however.
We are so spoiled by the modern tools and devices we have in our life that we have a hard time coping when some of them are taken away. I mean just what do you do in sparsely furnished room for an entire evening. No comfy chair to sit in, no TV to watch, no radio, no Kleenex and etc. Just what do you do? This will be my challenge this week I guess.
I opted out of my first class today. It was "Religion and Star Trek". I am just not up to that the first thing in the morning. Probably because I am here without my French Roast. You know how much I NEED my French Roast in the morning to get the jets fired up. Well, no fire in the jets yet. I had a cup of their "regular coffee". No kick at all. It promises to be a long week, my friends. Until Trashy Tuesday, "May the Force be with you". TA!
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