The Holidays are finally over. All the decorations have been taken down, which was easy since I didn't use many. All the presents have been put away, which also was easy since they were mainly Gift Cards (and those work well for me).
We move on into the New Year. And I'm starting this one in a good place. For the first time in years, I don't have any outstanding bills from doctors, hospitals, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm expecting one or two any day now, and I've got a minor bit of surgery scheduled for later this month to address a carcinoma situation. What I mean is that the ones I've been making fixed payments on for some time are all satisfied.
And so am I.
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We've been on a real roller coaster, weather-wise, for the last couple of weeks. We had a pretty big snow storm that dropped about 6 inches in my area. Then we had what they called a Polar Vortex which dropped the local temperatures down to sub-zero for the first time in decades. Oddly, this was followed by a warming trend and some heavy rains which washed away almost all of the snow but created localized flooding conditions. All this was capped by a freezing rain situation that has left behind some ongoing icing conditions.
All in all ..... Winter.
I was stuck inside for a day or two - a couple of times - which I didn't like, but I've been out and about as often as possible. And I'm happy to say that my car started every time.
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I was out early today because I had some personal errands to run. They didn't take as long as I'd thought so I stopped at my local Perkins for breakfast. I've been meaning to do this since last week but I kept missing "the window". (If you get there before 10 AM they have Early Bird Specials and I can get my favorite for $2.00 less. It's 2 sunny-side up eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns and decaf for $10.00.)
I'd eaten well, the sun was out, my bills were paid and I was feeling good.
I headed up towards the thrift store in South Plainfield that I haven't been to in a while. I browsed around there for a while but didn't find anything that interested me. I left and drove to Metuchen to check out the library.
I take the back streets to get there. To me, it's faster. Unfortunately, because of the way the weather's been, a lot of these side-streets have developed pot holes. Big pot holes, in many cases. And there's always some kind of roadwork going on. I was dealing with these when, up ahead, I noticed this guy.
The roadway was narrow here because of the construction and it was impossible to pass this guy. I followed him slowly and took out the Flasher.
I know what Doyle said, but - sometimes - you gotta do something.
There was no one behind me, and I watched the oncoming traffic until I found my moment.
Point, press, Flash.
I passed him by, got to the library, and actually picked up a couple of books.
I was still feeling good and I headed home.
I wound up back on Chain-of-Hills Road and, as I rounded one of the curves, noticed this woman up ahead. She was, I thought, power-walking.
I had the Flasher ready but I just drove on by. No reason to push the envelope.
I was feeling good.
Like my old friend Robert used to say, "It just doesn't get any better then this."
