Call me Lenny or call me George

Yup, things didn't work out for Lenny and George in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. And, that's the way they've been going for me so far on this beautiful May morning.

My computer was hungry for breakfast again this morning and gobbled up all my email again. The computer is going back to someone's shop of horrors to get fixed this time, I hope. While uttering a few expletives about the email, I attempted for two hours to get into the blogosphere with no luck.

I was supposed to go with the lands committee for the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Conservancy to look at a couple of potential sites for conservancy easements. We were told to meet at the Long Bridge Grill at 9 a.m. I headed out with Kiwi, who has no leash. I think it's in a Mazda in Seattle. My cell phone kept ringing. It was my brother trying to call, but my cell phone battery was on its last breath.

I worried that maybe he was calling because something might be wrong at Mother's house. So, I figured when I met the committee at the Long Bridge someone would have a cell phone. I could give Mother a call to see that everything was okay. I was worried because the last time I wasn't available for Mother, she was hauled off to the hospital in an ambulance for a nosebleed. None of her kids was around because we'd all gone on the Hiawatha bike ride with Laurie's fifth graders.

Not even the next door neighbors were home that day, so Mother called 911, and they came quickly---too quickly for her to put her teeth in. All turned out just fine, but it was weird to think that I'm around every single day and it was the one hour I wasn't that something went wrong. I was sure---based on the bad luck I'd already had before leaving home---that this would be another of those days.

I arrived at the Long Bridge at 8:55 and saw Jim Watkins' pickup, but nobody was in it. So, I figured they were inside drinking coffee and waiting for everyone to show up. No deal. The door to the restaurant was locked. They had already taken off without me. So, no cell phones and no trips over potential conservancy sites.

When Kiwi and I arrived back home, I immediately called Mother, who was doing just fine and enjoying the morning sunshine. Kevin had called me twice on the home phone. I'll get back to him later because I know Mother had no problems. Before that, I'm calling the computer shop again and seeing if they have any bright ideas on what's eating my email.

The blogosphere, as you can see from this posting, is back up and running. So, one of my usual best laid plans is coming to fruition. As for the rest of the day, I think I'll sit outside and soak up the sun " cuz the vibes don't suggest that the mice or wo(men) at this house are gonna get many of our plans to go right today.

I think the mice had better hunker down too.