The Haves And The Have Nots

My cold and I were up bright and early today.  With yesterday's snowstorm now but a memory, it was time to get it in gear and head into work.  Those kids aren't going to teach themselves, after all.  (although I'd be willing to experiment with that educational strategy given the least, little chance.)  

And my cold was feeling a little housebound after being stuck at home all day yesterday.  It wanted to go out and show everyone in the world the renovations it has done to my nose.  It is rather pleased with the work it has done taking my normal nose color and changing it to bright red.  It is also doing some rather innovative things with my eyes.  The puffiness adds quite the nice touch to the whole presentation.  Who am I to deny an artist his audience?

So I went to work.  There is a little phenomenon that can be observed the day after a big snowstorm in these parts.  Society breaks itself down into two distinct groups.  We all can be easily categorized and there is nothing we can do to change our status no matter how hard we might try.  You can spot who belongs where in a second.  All you have to do is look.

Some people are Garage People.  Some are No Garage People.  The Garage People drive very clean cars.  It is safe to ride behind them on the highway because there is nothing flying from the roofs of their vehicles.  No sheets of ice suddenly lose their grip on the luggage rack and try to decapitate you at 70 mph.  The Garage People look happy and warm.  They haven't a care in the world.  

The No Garage People are trying to see the road through the six inch diameter circle they were able to carve from the ice on their windshield before the scraper broke.  They somehow managed to clear the mirror on the passenger side of the car, but forgot the one on the driver's side.  They have no earthly idea what is coming at them from the rear.  This is good because then they would be able to see the giant snow clot that flew from their roof onto the Mercedes behind them.  This would only increase the stress, after all.  The No Garage People are also the ones who tend to forget to put in window washer fluid and have to stop every few miles to throw snow at their own vehicle in order to give the wipers something with which to work.

I am a No Garage Person.  I am good at heart.  I give to charity.  I think kindly of my fellow man.  I would give up my claim to the last parsnip in the grocery store if it meant that another might have a vegetable.  (that one might be a bad example...it's not like I buy a lot of parsnips.) I like to think that I am basically a moral and upstanding sort of person.  But, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having harbored hatred in my heart for The Garage People on snowy mornings.  They strolled out to their vehicles today in enclosed comfort.  They didn't have to blast their way out of a snowbank in the early dawn's lack of light.  They didn't have to invest in an extra long snow brush so that they might reach the roof of their truck.  The Garage People have it made.  They are the "haves" to my "have not-ness."  By tomorrow, I'll be over it.  I'll go back to my usually sunny and people-loving ways.  It won't matter that I don't have a garage in which to park my car.  My commute will not be spent glaring at the cleaner modes of transport and muttering vile things.

I may not have a garage, but I do have it pretty good, though.  Imagine, if you will, a certain stuffy, sneezy Sheepie blundering her way out of the house this morning.  She climbs through a snowbank to clear off her truck, manages to start it and get a foot of snow off it.  Mostly.  She pilots her way through the mountain of white stuff deposited by the plows and manages to not hit her neighbor's car in the process.  She then decides to stop at the mailbox because there are probably a million or so bills in there which cannot be ignored for too much longer.  But there is a package!  She uses great restraint and promises herself that she can open it when she gets home this afternoon.  She works a full day, blows her nose four thousand times, makes it home and even does her Tuesday afternoon workout in spite of not feeling like it.  She blows her nose twenty more times.  Then she opens her package.

And lookee what was in it!

Not long after The Horrible Holiday of '07,  I found a message waiting for me on Ravelry.  Anne had read of my loss and wanted to know if it might be all right to send a little Missing Our Furry Friends package along to me.  I was just so incredibly touched.  I think we've all had that moment where we identify with another's pain and for her to reach out like that was moving beyond words.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the day I decided to start up a little blog would be the day I connected to a world of caring people who just want to help ease the burden a bit.  And how the heck she knew I'd have a cold by the time this package arrived is beyond me, but there is some vitamin C drink mix in there!  There was also some chocolate, but you can't see that because I sort of ate it.  It was good.  You'll just have to take my word for that...

Thank you so very, very much, Anne.  You made my day.  And the Big, Fluffy Kitty is quite taken with the little wind-up toys.  She says, "thank you," too!

I do believe that tonight I shall drink a little of the vitamin drink, giggle over my new sock blocker key chain (a little something I have been coveting for a while now) and enjoy the warm feelings.  The temperatures continue to drop and the next snow storm is but a few days away.  And I still don't have a garage in which to park my car.

But, I'm feeling pretty warm and cozy right now in spite of it all.

SA