from the porches

sunday morning solitude

During my therapy session last week, my therapist asked what made me happy.  Of course, one thing came to mind.  Taking photographs in nature.  We discussed a plan for me to set aside time to do the thing I love the most. 

Even though I may not be out in nature at this very moment, I have edited photographs I took yesterday at Oleno State Park.  Just the mere editing of photographs and reflecting on what I captured with my camera lens, gives me that sense of solitude on this Sunday morning.

You see, I have dishes waiting to be washed.  Laundry ready to be done.  Beds to be made and office work to be dealt with.  But, instead.  I have decided to set aside this time to look at my photographs, edit them, and share them with you.  

all abuzz

Here is one of my favorite Mayor wife stories:

About eleven years ago when Truett was first appointed Mayor of Fort White, a new exciting service was coming to the town. . .cable TV! 

Our small town was all abuzz, ""We're getting cable!  Did you hear?  We're getting cable!"

Well, naturally I got excited.  That meant I, too, would have choices to watch on TV instead of Channel 20, channel 4 and sometimes channel 12 if it wasn't raining.

So one night as Truett and I were preparing for bed time, I said, "Are we getting cable?"

"No," the Mayor said.

"But why not?"  I asked.  "We live in the town too."

Then the Mayor told me how expensive it would be to run the cable lines from Hwy. 47 down our driveway and into our yard.  Thousands and thousands of dollars, to be exact.

"But I'm a citizen of the town!" I blurted.  "And I deserve cable TV just like everybody else."

(Now please don't form a bad judgement of my husband here.  He was thinking of his town.)

Truett then went on to explain that new technology that would soon replace cable and he wanted to wait for the next wave of new-fangled technology.

Needless to say, a one-sided heated discussion about the fairness of this issue took place, untiI I finally gave up and thought that, as a Mayor's wife,I should probably support the fact that I was saving the fair town of Fort White precious dollars, too.  Besides that, I mostly used TV as background noise while I read my books.

I will tell you, however, that at some point I let out a loud, "Humph!" and thought, "And I sleep with the Mayor!"

 

babinec

I don't know if you've noticed, but this post is listed under The Mayor's Wife.  I never in the whole wide world believed I would be a Mayor's wife, but somehow, after migrating to Fort White, Florida, and living a pretty decent life, my husband was elected Mayor of our small town.  (I will give you more specific details in another post.)

Once I wrote about a phone call asking for Mayor George, and I thought the lady asked for Merry George.   Therefore, I said, "This is she."  Well, to make a long matter short, after the lady ranted and raved about her garbage not being picked up or something similar, I said, "Oh, you need to speak to Mayor George."  And I gave her Truett's business number.  Gotcha'

Hey where are the photographs to go with this post???

Sorry.  Tonight I have a story to tell.

Well, Fort White has a water plant system.  All of Fort White-ians pay for this water, including the Mayor and his wife, even though we still use our well system.

 Anyway, ever so often, something goes terribly wrong with the water system and guess who the automated water system Monitor calls every hour on the hour from midnight until 4:00 p.m.the next day.

You've got it.

THE MAYOR!

Wait a minute.  Since I monitor the phones, that would be The Mayor's Wife!

Anyway, to make a long story short, last night I was sleeping soundly in my bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. 

Nah!

 I was sound asleep drooling on my pillow, when I heard the telephone ring.  My arms and hands began thrashing at the bedside lamp until my fingers grasped the telephone. 

Hello.

 Babinec.  Abnormal water pressure.  Abnormal water pressure.

Every hour on the hour from midnight throughout the day I grappled for the phone and cursed silently. 

But not to worry. 

The Mayor gave the town supervisor his Home Depot card to purchase a new pressure something because he couldn't find the town secretary, and the thing with the abnormal water pressure was supposed to be fixed.

Meantime, I told the town employee, "I'm not answering the dang-blasted phone tonight." It can leave a message."

Anyway, knowing a new water pressure something was purchased because the Mayor's credit card showed such, and I actually witnessed it being hauled to the water plant, I had high hopes of the problem being solved.

Not so.

This afternoon at approximately 4:00 p.m., the phone rings and that Babinec robotic voice says, "Abnormal water pressure!"

YIIIEEEAAAY!

I cut the phone off and fumbled the phone back on the docking port.

The Mayor can answer the phone tonight while I dream of visions of sugar plums!