Thwarted Voices

A Very Happy Transit Fiend on her Ride

I usually cringe on the prospect of facing the monthly board meeting where the public is invited to make comments. Yesterday was no exception as the Voices of Inappropriate Worth made their usual banality evident. Yesterday’s diatribe concerned the public bathrooms and why they couldn’t be reconstructed overnight. I have to credit the board members for not losing their cool when confronted with such inanity. It’s why I could never conceive of a life in politics and why I’m always suspicious of someone who would. I lead with this to say this monthly bump in the calm stood no chance of sustaining its usual impact because I was having lunch with my Favorite Panamanian and, of course, the FBR.

Walking with Grampa out to the Buses

Happy Girl

I didn’t even care when the board meeting went a full half hour late. I returned to my office and shortly thereafter the little bundle of seemingly ceaseless energy, the FBR, appeared. We always make it a point to have her drop by my office because she’s fascinated by buses (I think that traces back to the Wheels on the Bus song) and I just happen to have a few dozen buses at my disposal. I was able to arrange a real treat for her yesterday as in addition to her usual driver’s seat time the Maintenance Manager volunteered to give her a ride around the property in the bus.

In the Driver's Seat

I thought she was going to explode with excitement. When she realized the bus was returning to the garage she was visibly upset. Go figure, public transit being fun. We had a very fun, if hurried, lunch after which the two new best shopping buds availed themselves of that opportunity while I returned to the office. Last night my wife was going to church, being the good Catholic she is, while I was left with the duties of getting the FBR into bed. I was little insulted by how nervous this made my wife.

The Nightly Tea Party

Which Always Includes Some Poaching

I’m not sure what parents did before baby monitors, wait a minute, I do, because we never had one. The FBR cannot get away, undetected, the way her mother, who fought sleep like it was a mortal enemy, always did. I knew as soon as it happened when she got out of bed and went upstairs to find the lights on in the bedroom as the FBR stammered out her reasoning. She was a very good sport after her discovery and went back to bed, if not immediately to sleep. I’m going to miss her terribly next week.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt = my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting arrival of the BRS; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Deckzilla Dude – senior citizen carpenter/contractor; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues