No Barley's Tonight

I was up just prior to 530am and happy to see clear skies overhead. After a round of calisthenics I was out the door with Ykraps. The rest of my predawn routine was just that – routine. I left for my run just after 6:30am. I ran four miles. I noticed the Southwestern school district high school kids are again at the bus stop waiting for their buses as I pass the halfway point. I always make it a point to greet them as I pass. A cheery response is rare. Still, it doesn’t change my good cheer. My enthusiasm for the coming Labor Day weekend was tempered by the fact that I would be on-call through Monday night. Furthermore, Mindy & I agreed to keep Landon and Lil’ Rocky over the weekend so that Lindsey could address some personal issues. And what’s more, it was sounding like we’d be hosting a Kaileigh/Courtney visit on Saturday, too. The house was abuzz with activity when I returned from my run. Mindy had my lunch packed and breakfast ready. That sped things up considerably. I drove the Trooper to work. At the last second, I remembered to grab one of my empty five-gallon gas containers for more mower gas. I reckoned that I’d stop on my way home. Come lunch time I drove to Jack’s Aquarium. There I purchased a bag of 18 crickets for our lizards. They’ll love me for it. I also stopped at Home Depot to buy a plywood remnant. I found a 2’X4’ piece of ¼” plywood and then had them cut it down to 18”X36”. This would serve as a shelf to place atop Ykraps’ kennel. I was back at the office by 2:15pm. I took the crickets in with me, not wanting them to bake in the Trooper. Sometime mid-afternoon I received an email from Bob Imber measuring my interest in Monday golf. Hmmm? The afternoon was busy. And since I was on-call I stayed a little late to make sure that I had a good handle on everything going on. I arrived home Friday evening just before 6pm, but not before stopping at Thornton’s for mower gas. It was only $3.49 per gallon. Being so cheap, I topped off the Trooper, too. The house was much quieter than what I expected with all the kids. I later learned that they were outside playing. Rocky & Landon were already there having been dropped off by Kelly & Lindsey. Landon was napping and Rocky was outside with Jacob and Bella. By the time I got back from my walk with Ykraps, Landon was back up. He was very shy with Mindy & I. He wouldn’t even look at us, let alone speak. But honestly, there’s little wonder why. Heck, we don’t get to see him very often. Mindy got the kids bathed and in bed before 9pm. I was charged with inflating the Coleman air mattress. I spent the lion’s share of my late evening taking care of work related matters. Fun-fun! We were in bed before 10:30pm.