Hard Leather Striking Flesh

Today was the kind of day when leaving the BM’er behind in the garage would’ve been downright sinful. The lovely weather had me aiming towards driving her to work for the first time in several months. But before all of that would happen, I still had a morning routine to chug through. After finishing my exercise, a walk with Ykraps, and coffee, I readied for a run. Meanwhile, the temperature was in the mid-50’s and the morning sky already making way for the sun. If the forecast was correct, we’d be close to 80 today with clear blue skies. I ran in shorts and a long sleeved running shirt. I was comfortable. Again, my leg/ass/ and lower back were feeling much better. I was very thankful for that. I completed the rest of my usual prep routine and found my self at the bus stop with Jacob by 7:55am. I chatted only briefly with Pat before heading back home. Before taking off in the BM’er I hitched the trailer to the Trooper and delivered it back to Dad. I got the impression he wanted to use it around the yard and I wouldn’t be needing it again until the weekend most likely. That went without a hitch! J Back at home I loaded my gear into the BM’er and headed off towards work. I had to stop at Thornton’s for gas having just under a quarter tank in reserve. Sadly, gas prices were high – about $3.55 per gallon, but the BM’er takes only 12 gallons and gets about 30 mpg on the highway. I was zipping towards work in no time. BM’er days are generally better mindset days. And there’s little wonder why. Generally speaking, it’s sunny, warm, and the tops always down. It would be hard not to have a good day under such conditions. Work proceeded as expected. I planned a drive to a couple stone companies during my lunch hour. I left around 1PM. The first place I stopped on Phillipi Rd was not a wall stone company at all. Instead, they sold cultured wall stone for stucco homes like mine. I had been by there hundreds of times apparently mistaken with their product line. I knew about the Columbus Stone Center located on McKinley Rd. I headed there next. I perused their selection first before going into the office. They had a much wider selection than Ohio Mulch. But inside I learned they had no pricing sheet. And what’s worse, she couldn’t give me any reasonable idea of the cost associated with my project even after describing it by size. What, I thought? What kind of racket is that? By now it was close to 1:50pm. I needed to head back to the office. Unfortunately, the stone thing was still unresolved. But it’s not a truly pressing matter. I kept it in proper perspective. The rest of the work day went on as usual. Mindy had hot wings ready when I got home from work. And it was a lovely spring evening – sunny & 76. Mindy left immediately after dinner to watch Bella at dance. I stayed home to edge rear flower beds. Jacob, last minute, decided to remain home with me. I managed to edge the beds in their entirety, at least the ones surrounding the deck, and even did the large red maple. It was quite a chore, and I was tuckered after. I still needed to do the weeping willow “no-more” bed, but that would have to wait for another day. Plus, I will need to pick-up all the edgings at some point prior to Com-Til. Still, I was happy with my progress. I next turned my attention to Jacoby. I fetched both of our baseball gloves and a ball. I wanted to work on catching and throwing for a few minutes. He was playing with the neighbor kids so I knew his eagerness for such an activity wasn’t as high as mine. Regardless, he still came back to practice when I emerged with ball & gloves. We hadn’t tossed the ball but once or twice when Jacob errantly allowed a throw to come crashing down onto his foot. He was wearing flip-flops so his error was a significant one. I could tell by the sound of the leather striking flesh. He immediately dropped to the ground wincing in pain. And as luck would have it, Mindy & Bella had just returned from dance and were making their way from the deck into the back yard where we throwing. I knew what was next. Jacob insisted to his mother that I did this on purpose and proceeded to throw a mini tantrum. He slammed his glove and ball to the ground citing that he’d never play ball with me again. Geesh! That didn’t last long, however. Mindy picked up his glove and started tossing the ball with me. Jacob soon took notice and returned. He still wasn’t in the best frame of mind and more than once tossed his glove stating that he was done. He knows I don’t care for that type of attitude which I am sure fueled his antics even more so. After two or three fits I was done. I collected our stuff and moved towards the house. Mindy & I watched American Idol, at least most if it. Like I normally do, I multitasked. We headed for bed soon after Idol was finished.