Leigh's Views

Social distancing. The buzz words of the year. Problem is I'm a very social creature. I thrive on being around others. Not that I have to be in every conversation but I do need to at least be a fly on the wall. I love to sit and people watch, observe this strange creature that is human. But what am I to do when my favorite coffee shop is closed? My favorite restaurant is take-out only? Sigh… So there I was yesterday watching cats. Yes, I did say cats. For some reasons there were 20 or 30 cats in my yard. Apparently when the humans no longer roam the earth the cats will. They were chasing each other, running after the squirrels and jumping onto and off the shed repeatedly. It was getting boring quickly. Then I heard the neighbor’s kids come out to play. Ah, now this may get interesting. 2 kids became 6, then 10, then I don’t know how many as every child in the neighborhood ended up in one place. Yikes, I guess they don’t know about the rules of keeping gathe...

So yesterday I went to the store for my weekly grocery trip. Just a few items needed, nothing special. Okay, I know all about those news stories about panic shopping but somehow I didn’t think it would apply to me and where I live. As I entered the normally very busy store, the first thing I noticed was it’s like a ghost town in there. It’s eerily quiet and I think I’m completely alone except for a few employees. Fine by me. Lets see, I need milk - no milk. Uhm. Eggs - no. Chicken - no. Hamburger - no. Rice - no. Beans - no. Pasta - no. Tomato sauce - no. Bananas - no. Yikes. Ah, there is lettuce. Ick, it’s brown. I’m not buying that and the tomatoes are moldy. Moving on to frozen meat - no. Frozen fruit - no. Frozen veggies - ah, there’s something on that shelf! Brussel sprouts and a bag of lima beans?! Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to put only lima beans in a bag and try to sell it? As I stand there with the door to the freezer open poking throug...

A while back, I had a group of friends over. We were enjoying an evening out on my back porch. One of my friends grabbed the remote to the T.V. Now this remote is one of those with only limited buttons - one up/down for the channels, one up/down for the volume and two that control the apps for online viewing. He first made a comment about how few channels I had. I didn’t reply but I knew what the problem was. Then he exclaimed, “Wait, that channel wasn’t there a second ago!” Yup, I was going to have to show a grown man how to use a remote. So much funnage. So, without rolling my eyes back into my head far enough they could be stuck there permanently, I explained the problem. He was a button masher. As in, instead of lightly tapping the button on the remote, he was mashing it. Thus, instead of the T.V. changing one channel at a time, it was jumping 2 or 3 or 4 channels. What was his response to this? About what you’d expect. He not so carefully tossed the remote aside ...

Last week I had the opportunity to be the plus-one for an elderly neighbor who was having minor surgery. After I got her sent off for her procedure, I settled into the waiting/reception area for the several hours wait. All of the other plus-ones were quietly sitting there playing with phones or tablets and the air was thick with tension. Clearly, no one was happy to be there or about what their loved ones/friends were having done. Then an elderly couple came in. The reception desk was far enough away one normally couldn't hear what was being said. However, when the woman behind the desk started to put the armband on the gentleman's arm, he raised his voice loud enough for all to hear. Yelling something to the effect that he wasn't going to have surgery anywhere that could only tell which side he was needing the procedure done on based on which arm the band was on. Yikes. But the woman at the desk had been there, done that, and got the t-shirt to prove it...