funny little thing

Félix Vallotton - another from the museum postcard collection

A funny thing happened yesterday. I had been for my almost daily after lunch stroll to get the mail. I walk to the end of my street (a few steps as my house is only the second house in from the end) a left turn and a short walk up what is one of two small main streets in this little village. I stopped in to visit my friend Harry (as I often do) at his little Home Décor & Gift shop (which opens for the season May 1st). He and I gab a bit and catch up with the last few days of news from each other. He's just finishing up a total reno of his kitchen and yesterday I spoke for the first time with a real estate agent, beginning the conversation about selling my house (that's an entire other story yet to come). We often will walk up to the post office together to pick up our respective mail. I received only fliers yesterday, totally shattering for me, as I am a magazine/mail pig. I can't get through the magazines I just received yet still, all I want is more, more .... it's a bit of an addiction and it began years ago with Seventeen Magazine.

So Harry and I chat and gab and walk back to his shop have a great a weekend & stop by for coffee, why don't you and I carry on the very short distance back to my house. As I'm standing on my front porch just about to go inside, a car drives by really slowly with the window rolled down. My first thoughts are maybe they'd like to buy my house and then more realistically maybe he's going to ask for directions. But no, he says are you Susan ? I initially do not recognize the face. Oh Oh! think quick, whats my pseudonym ? says the hermit girl who shares my head, dang can't think quick enough ... I say yes ? He parks the car, leaves it idling, leaps out from behind the wheel, takes his glasses off and rushes across the street to meet me saying do you know who I am ? Me you look really familiar. He said his name Robert W. Oh of course ! Big Hug ! Someone I knew very well through both elementary and high school. He's now beginning to go bald, his hair is grey, he's wearing glasses, and he's dressed like a Dad. God I wonder what I look like after all these years ? eek.

Apparently he'd been having lunch in the Cafe across from the post-office and he spied Harry and I and said to the person he was traveling with I know her and he said he'd stalked me, slowly, in his car back to my front porch. We hugged in the middle of the street, had a 3 minute blast of a catch up conversation, he was here for a meeting somewhere. Married? Kids ? Dogs? Cats? Work? He apologized that he was running late for his meeting but said he was so glad that he followed me to ask who I was. He turned and before he got into the car said you were always very high up on my list of favourite people. I smiled back and said and you always made me laugh more than anyone. Which was so true, he was the clown in school, racy, kind of bad (compared to me and my good girl persona) and always, always hilarious.

funny how it's often the little things that can really make your day.