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April 24, 1997
Up at the crack of dawn again, this time without the heart pounding fear, but still without enough sleep. I was 5 minutes early for my 8:00 AM appointment at the Honda Barn this time. I brought Essentials of Oceanography, the fisheries reading packet she gave out in class last night, my notebooks, Volcano Weather, and The New Diary to keep me distracted for 3 or 4 hours while I waited.
People came and went in the waiting room. I read all 4 articles in the fisheries reading packet, all the homework pages in Essentials of Oceanography, and the rest of Volcano Weather, plus a few pages of last week's Time. I reviewed all the key concepts from the beginning of the term to last night. I read the info on the ozone hole that I pulled off the net last night.
The service manager came upstairs around 11:15 and told me I needed an alignment, a new chrome thingie on the tail pipe (from the muffler disaster the day of the storm), and a few other things besides what I'd come for (the 75K major service). I went over the list with him and authorized all of them. He predicted another hour or hour and a quarter.
I started reading The New Diary. I fell asleep.
Sometime around 1:15PM, the service manager woke me to tell me the car was ready. I was startled. Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing here?
I gathered up my stuff, paid for the service, and sped to the Earth Food Store for a good lunch. I dragged my Earth Food to Starbucks and immediately inquired about Sean. Nobody had heard from him. Andrew says he saw him in a car headed toward Haverhill yesterday. The crew speculates he's had a bad acid trip.
Joe the hairdresser (the one who brought the emergency yellow remover one time) comes in. He asks about Sean. Andrew gives him the same data. Joe's worried. We make jokes about Sean's drinking and drugging. Andrew is making jokes about his own drinking. I look at Joe and say we should just set up a permanent meeting in Starbucks. Joe laughs. Andrew looks blank and clue less. I know Sean goes to meetings. And once I overheard him trying to get Andrew to go. Sigh. So, nobody's heard from the kid. I hope he's OK.
Once I've eaten and had coffee I realize Julie's lecture is at 2:00. I had planned on going to hear about crime and punishment in colonial new england with special emphasis on the witches of Haverhill, but it seems like to big a stretch to get there since it's already after 2:00. So I go home.
The cleaning lady has been here. This is good.
The sky is gray and the air is chilly. I feel like taking another nap but I know I won't sleep tonight if I do that. I have to get up early tomorrow to do aunt duty in Groton. What will I do with the kids all day? I'm not as funny as I used to be, y'know (so sez Elizabeth anyway). Better practice my comedy routines :-)
For those of you in the greater Boston area, yes that was me on tv talking about workaholism 2 weeks ago. They assured me I wouldn't be recognizable. But I was recognized. So much for anonymity.