I must be the luckiest person in the whole town of Fort White. Saturday Truett and I ran up to Wal*Mart in Lake City so I could purchase hand warmers for my gloves.
We headed to the hunting and camping section, but there were no boxes of hand warmers anywhere. I asked the clerk in the gun sales department and he told me, "Lady, we're all sold out and I don't know when we're getting anymore in. They sold like hot cakes."
I started freaking out, actually becoming despondent for I knew the low temperatures were coming and I had that dreaded, miserable car-rider duty. Little did I know how cold it would be on Monday (11 degrees) and today (19 degrees).
Well, as Truett and I were checking out of Wal*Mart, I glanced at the magazines with all the new diet plans and then I scanned the tabloids (poor Tiger. He messed up, didn't he?) Then I looked at the opposite shelf at the Tootsie Rolls and Dentyne gum.
But way down on the bottom row was a box that said "Hand-Warmers".
I grabbed the box and looked inside. . . but it was empty.
"Dang!" I grumbled.
Truett suggested I check all the check-out lanes, so I did.
One after the other, I squeezed behind people loading their groceries and sundries on the counter; and one aisle after the other proved empty of Hand-Warmers.
Then lo and behold, on check-out lane number 4, I spotted two packs of hand warmers.
I snatched them up, clutched them to my chest like precious jewels, and hurried back to check-out lane number 9 where Truett was unloading our groceries from the buggy.
"Yes!" I thought. "Monday and Tuesday are covered!" I knew my hands would be warm for at least two days. But I needed three more packs to make it through this week.
Well, today I picked up my mom for our Tuesday night supper in High Springs. After I dropped her off I high-tailed it over to CVS Drugstore, where I had seen hand-warmers for sale.
Not seeing any, I wandered the store. Up and down each aisle.
I got distracted a few times in the toy and gadget aisles, but ended up at the pharmacy and asked, "Do you have any hand-warmers?"
The pharmacist said, "Sure do. Right at the front of this counter."
I looked all over the counter; but none were to be found.
"Darn!" I muttered. "I'm in a pickel. We have several more days of low temperatures and my hands cannot take the cold on car-rider duty.
So I decided I'd have to stove up and think warm, toasty thoughts tomorrow morning . . .and the rest of the week.
Do you want to know how lucky I am?
I am so lucky that when I checked out I asked the sales clerk, "Do you sell hand-warmers?"
Her reply: "We had a whole case this morning, but this is all we have now.
And with that, she reached down and pulled out two packages of hand warmers.
Ah, I thought. Wednesday and Thursday are saved.
That's how lucky I am.
On the other hand, on the drive home, I thanked the good Lord for the small things He gives to me.