Frozen Waterfall

This year’s winter has not only caused a waterfall to freeze on the gutter of a neighboring building, it has frozen my voice in writing.

Frozen Waterfall Clinging to a Gutter

I am hopeful for a big thaw so I can ride my bike and play some tennis. During my hibernation, I have encountered some impressive customer service.

ZZZZZip!

This morning, after three years of holding onto a long jacket with zipping challenges, I took it back to LL Bean. The associate took the jacket and said, “Let me teach you how to zip this jacket.” 

Oh boy. could he more condescending?  Actually, he was being helpful and I watched in delight as the zipper went up the jacket with ease.  “Let me try!!”  The zipper was fine, it was “operator error”.   Embarrassing, yes. But it’s more mortifying to not be able to zip my jacket when I am trying to leave some place in public!

LL Bean does receive complaints about their zippers. My guess is that many of those zippers are a double zipper like mine and perhaps there are frustrated users who just need to be properly taught how to zip the jacket.  Something I thought I had learned when I was five… I was wrong!

I left wearing

Somebody Else Will Step Up

It’s so easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow” or “They don’t need me, somebody else will step up.”

These thoughts occurred to me when last weekend a good friend of mine, Buttons, went with me to a venue to see one of my oldest childhood chums play in his band.  

I kept putting my buddy off and would say that I’d see him when his band lands a closer venue.  However, recently, he accompanied me to see some of my other friends perform, just to keep me company so I wouldn’t have to go alone.  Finally, the reality sunk in that I would have to trek out to the outer burbs to show my support for my chums’ band. It’s pretty lame not to make the effort, isn’t it?

The venue was amusing. The stage was in the dining room and the bar was to the right of the stage and the dance floor was the size of…YOUR dining room table, but people were having a GREAT time. Those people dancing were really in the moment and yes, the postage stamp dance floor was full! The female lead singer strolled through the bar, engaging the audience as she serenaded.  And, it was Ladies’ Night…say no more. 

The male lead singer loves his music and always had a smile on his face. As each song ended, I would utter a loud “WOO HOO” like you would hear on the Soul Train show, back in the day. People looked at me and I reminded them that a band was playing. 

I sprang off my bar seat to