Tim Lacy
I know I teased you with an introduction to the Negro Leagues in my last submission, and I promise I will pick up the action in our next edition. However my efforts of today are too interesting for me not to share with you.
First, I have to give you a little background. My wife’s mother was heir to property left by her father. The land is in North Carolina, and we have put a vacation home on the property. When we travel there, we put our home phone in D.C. on forward to my wife’s cell phone so as not to miss any calls.
Item two concerns the relationship of my wife and her classmates of 1961. These people are as close as any non-related adults can be. We celebrate birthdays and special occasions together and the friendship and love permeates the air.
For the past couple of years some of the ladies have come upon a plan to search out travel deals and visit some exotic locations. This year it was Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Now the plot thickens.
Their trip started on Monday with a return on Saturday. I was excited for her, and when I dropped her at the airport it was nice to see her smiling face as she entered the terminal. I was still basking in her glow as I returned home. This lasted until my neighbor came to the door and asked what was wrong with my phone. A test revealed that after one ring the call went into a forward mode. I had no way of disconnecting and I couldn’t call her because she was having the same problem.
My smile quickly turned to colorful language because it seems that everybody on the planet with a phone picked that time to call my number. Did I mention that my cell phone was caught up in this web also?
Now normally I would kick back and enjoy the moment but this came at a bad time. We have two cousins with health issues and daily updates are important. Neither are at home, and my wife has the facility in her phone log. As I worried my brain trying to find a solution, the phone would ring and another call went into cyber space looking for the Dominican Republic. To add to this anxiety, one of her travel companions had just come off of serious surgery. I was seriously concerned about her wellbeing. But, no news.
I couldn’t fix the problem so I just attempted to fix my mind.
Finally Saturday arrived. I hit the deck at 4:15 a.m. to prepare for the arrival of her 5:25 a.m. flight. She was to call me when she hit the ground, and this would give me time to reach the airport while she cleared customs. This shouldn’t be a problem because the one ring could only be from her. Along about 6 a.m. with no word I began to sweat. At 7:15 I decided to call the airline.
Now I can’t find the phone book. This fit right in with the drama of the moment. However, information provided me with the number and I made the call. The lady was very pleasant when she informed me that the flight was scheduled to arrive at 5:25 p.m. I thanked her and hopped back in bed.
Around 6 p.m., I got my one ring and headed for the airport. As I raced up Interstate 95, it occurred to me that I was going to have a heck of a time finding her in that huge airport. I parked and started walking. I finally got steered in the right direction and realized I might be able to call her now. I borrowed a phone (mine was at home on top of the refrigerator where it lives) and called her. She answered, and we finally made contact. Now a new adventure began as we searched for the car. I don’t know how many parking garages they have at the airport, but I visited most of them.
When we got home, Maddie and Jordan (our 12-year-old knuckleheads) had prepared a dinner surprise. All is well, I got my wife back and my headache is gone.