Time for a New Friend---Maybe!

Connie has been getting me into a lot of trouble lately. Butch says I need a new friend as she's costing him too much money---and we all know how he feels about that! 

Case #1.

As always, the girls had gone to dinner on the guys poker night 3 weeks ago. I was driving Connie and Linda home. We dropped Linda off and then proceeded to Connie's house. About half way there, Connie said, "you wanted to turn there".  Now it's not like I don't know where she lives after all these years but we were going home from a direction that I don't normally go. Okay, not exactly the way I was planning to go, but I backed up and turned. We proceeded along and came to another stop. As I was going through the intersection, she said again, "you want to turn right"---just as I passed. I put the car in reverse and---BOOM---backed into another car. Not hard, but my fault for sure. Connie immediately started to say, "Oh Barb, I'm so sorry! I'll pay for it. I'm so sorry!" I just said that it wasn't her fault and got out of the car. There was no damage to my car at all. The other driver's car had a tiny 1/2 x 1/2 inch "nick" from my trailer hitch. Turns out she claimed it. Her car was a 1996 Audi that already had nicks and rust spots. We're sure she pocketed the money, but it was my fault. Anyway, Butch wanted to know why neither of us heard the "ding, ding, ding" of the back up sensor. I swear, I don't think it sounded. Connie helped me further by telling him that all we heard was the honk! Okay, he's over that. She swears that she's never going to be a front (or back) seat driver again.

Case #2.

Connie invited all of our friends to meet at their house on Thursday night to kick off the holiday weekend with a drink and dinner at Rose Pepper's---a Mexican restaurant in East Nashville that most of us had never been too. We decided to all pile into 2 cars. Butch drove his new "used" Mercedes. Jack, Connie and Nancy were with us. Dinner was great. After two pitchers of Margaritas and assorted beers, I decided to drive home. I don't like beer or Margaritas, so I had a sangria---mostly fruit juice. I was perfectly capable of driving home. 

It's late enough that the traffic is very light. I'm driving down a pretty wide 4-way street when I see a "white" thing on the road. There were no other cars in sight. Without realizing it, I drove right over it. Butch started freaking out---how could I run over a opossum! Well that did it, ALL of my friends in the back seat were laughing so hard with Connie leading the pack. I said that I thought it  was a towel. Butch said why would I run over anything when I had so much room to go around. I really didn't have an answer for that. Then the back seat comments started---barely audible above the laughing---"it's a fresh opossum too!, looks like you aimed for it, there's probably stuff squished in the tire, why didn't you go around it, I didn't see anything, just felt the kabump, kabump, etc."---you get it, real supportive friends.  Butch said we'd probably have a flat tire from a bone. I just said that I was so glad that I could provide them with so much entertainment! Connie said that she could see I was going to hit the opossum, but was keeping her vow to not say anything. Gee, thanks. Butch got over that too. 

Case #3.

Yesterday, bright and early on the 4th, Jack and Connie came over to go geo-caching with us. Our first stop was at a school we had never been to before. We were crossing the playground to get to the woods at the edge when Connie spotted the tether ball---you remember that---sort of a volleyball on a long rope attached to a steel pole. Connie started squealing---"come on Barb, let's play--I loved tether ball." Being the good sport that I am, I agreed. We weren't even playing 2 minutes when I was getting back into the zone. I was slamming it while Connie was ducking and dodging it on her side. Now I'm ready to really put it away. I balled up my fist and threw everything I had into it. The momentum kept me going and I fell onto my left side. Connie said, "okay, you win." Thanks! I hurt my foot but tried to hide it at first. The limping gave me away. Then the swelling and bruising started. Butch just shakes his head---he thinks I act like I'm 10 most of the time. I ended up sitting in the car while Jack and Butch found several caches. Connie and I talked about not wanting to realize that we might have limitations at 57 (and her at (gasp) 60! She recently nearly threw her back out while trying to demonstrate a cartwheel to her granddaughter). Add to that, her comment, "well, if you weren't trying to kill me!" That's my Zimmermann competitive nature---when it comes to sports, I can't do it half way! Anyway, I finally showed her the bruising on my hand too. I really thought that I had broken by foot and possibly fractured my hand. Still, we went on to find 9 caches and had lunch. We got home about 1:30. I took 3 ibuprofin and put ice on my foot. When the Lapps family arrived at 4, I was barely able to put any pressure on it. Connie arrived with a boot she had from when she broke her ankle. I didn't use it that day, but figured I'd wear it starting today. Miraculously, when I woke up at 4 a.m. to take Sandy and Greg to the airport, my foot wasn't nearly as bad or painful as yesterday. The swelling has gone down some too. My wrist barely hurts at all. I guess I dodged the proverbial bullet. Now I just need to remember to act my age with all the kids here this week.

As for Connie, we sure have had a lot of fun adventures over the years. I guess I'll keep her for awhile longer---maybe!