The Waiting Room - Meeting my Friends at the Giant - Poem: Wheeling my Booty to the Car

 Last night I made Scott and myself a special dinner:

 Scallops with veggies on a bed of brown rice.

 Stewed pears for dessert.

"That was delicious," he said.

Here's what I did this morning:

THE WAITING ROOM AT
QUEST IN JENKINTOWN PA

When I left home, snow
peppered the neighborhood
my car door and I sparring
to make it open

Up the Duke of York Road
I traveled, and into the
parking lot of Cloverly
Plaza, then trotting in
the chill to the well-
attended waiting room.

A dozen sat in chartreuse
chairs, while I pulled
Tom Hanks from my pocketbook.
Everyone stared. Tall, receding
hairline, with that unmistakable
voice of his.

Relax, ladies and gentlemen, he
said, holding up his book of
short stories.

We did as he said. I kicked my
leg and looked out the huge window.
Across the street was the former
Strawbridge and Clothier.
From the era of department stores.

We used to have lunch there, Mom, Dad,
the kids and I. Chefs in white hats
prepared meals and the carpet glowed
green.

Finally, Jane called me.
As the needle went in, it hurt.
I breathed as I watched the tubes
fill up with the elixir of
the gods.

"You done good," I said to myself
as I dressed for the day ahead,
clamping my blue beret on
my head.

Here I am, home on the red couch,
sipping on - what else - hot water,
not ready yet to remove my beret.





***

So long Christmas Lights for the season.

Every little thing in my window sill is precious to me.

Now, yes, right this minute, I am doing something very difficult.

Enough procrastinating.

Am talking to Jasmine from Verizon. Got my password to get on Verizon. Thank you, Jasmine, from Dallas, Texas.

It's 19 degrees down there.

I'm laffing now at the ridiculousness of our world.

She and her fiance will take a road trip cross country.

WOW!

I invited her to Philadelphia and said they'd enjoy this cradle of democracy.

Sensible people believe the current administration has set back democracy, but not everyone agrees.

        Jelani Cobb is hopeful.

A gregarious individual like myself can only be cooped up for so long.

What time is it now?

3:11 pm.

We're waiting to see if ND will meet tonight or not.

You decide and lemme know. 

I'm hiding my eyes.

***

Bought two important things at the Giant. Olive oil and a flashlight with batteries. I need the flashlight to see what the temperature is in the living room. I turned it down to 64 b/c I biked for 20 minutes.

***

Ate delicious Chinese food that Helen served me. Does SHE know how to save money? Into a small Styrofoam box, she ladled two orders - noodles and chicken and broccoli.

 

Ate it in the Starbucks section, where I saw Sally and Danielle from my nephrologist's office. You can't miss Sally's gorgeous curly hairdo, or Danielle and her tiny nose ring.

Also bought a Rotisserie Chicken, an impulse purchase.

Cathe at Starbucks - blue nails today - gave me a small black coffee and a warm chocolate croissant. Really enjoyed the the food.

Remember, Ruthie, the napkins are on the left of the Starbucks counter.

WHEELING MY BOOTY TO MY CAR

  

Careful, as we cross the bumpy keep-the-carts-out section,
to my car, parked as far away as possible.

We don't wanna lose one precious drop of coffee,
as we sail across the lot, my strides as long as

a pony. What does this coffee cup represent?
Cathe made it for me. The beans are a

dark roast and come all the way from
across the Pacific.

As I sip, I feel warmed all over. And
maybe I can even write a new

short story I stumbled upon last
night while watching Antiques Roadshow.