Editorial
Front Page - Friday, February 05, 2010
View from the Cheap Seats
Birthday blizzard '10
Bill James
Birthday
blizzard ‘10
William O. “Bill” James, Jr.
January 29, 2010. My 45th birthday. It starts out normally. I wake up at 5 a.m. and take a shower. After I get out, Patti tells me school is cancelled. As a small business owner, I never like to hear those words. No school means no court, which generally means no money. For those in my employ, it means a paid day off. What a way to start my birthday.
I decide that, since the roads were not bad yet, I should head up to the office and get some work to bring home. The roads were just starting to get slick as I entered the downtown area. I arrived at my office and immediately started piddling around feeling sorry for myself since it had snowed on my birthday. I guess, since I was born in January, that is just the way it goes.
After I packed up more work than I could ever do over the weekend, I decided to call another attorney to tell him I wanted to refer a case that had contacted me the day before. I called him at home. His wife answered and she told me he had left early to go to work. I make some off hand comment about “that is what all of us attorneys were telling our wives so we could get out of the house.” She did not respond well to my quip and let me know that she did not know me and did not feel that my statement was appropriate. I told her I was sorry and I admitted sometimes I was a bit of a smart a**. She immediately agreed and told me that she had “heard that about me.”
I asked her if she had really heard that, and she said, she had. I told her that it hurt my feelings and she told me that she did not believe me. Then, to show her anger, she refused to give me her husband’s cell number. Of course, I had it, but I imagine it made her feel good to tell me she wasn’t giving it to me because of what I said. She said I ruined her day. I said I was sorry and then hung up. I went to call the attorney on the other number and I accidently dialed the home number again. She hung up as I apologized. I don’t think she believed it was an accident. It just goes to show you, comedy is a tough sport and lost on some people. The one thing I wished I would have told her was that, as hard as her husband works, no one works harder than I do, smart a** or not. You should always stand up for yourself.
I then made my way home. During the trip in the heavy sleet, I realized something was wrong with one of my tires. I went home and took a nap. A couple hours later as the sleet subsided, I decided to take the car to the BMW dealership to have it checked. They called me and said that I needed two new tires that were not in stock. I went to pick it up and had to wait as they were washing it. Yes, washing it. Patti called twice telling me the storm was coming hard and I better get home.
Once I got in my car, I was unable to leave the exit with a slight incline so I had to take an alternate route. As I made my way up Hinson road, the car stopped moving and the tires just spun. I was stuck. Cars were whizzing by me, I wasn’t moving. I pulled over to the side and sat for a minute and called the dealer for a ride. I realized I could not leave my car in the road and backed down as traffic permitted and parked it a parking lot at the intersection of Rodney Parham and Rodney Parham. Twenty minutes later someone showed up and took me home. I took another nap.
My birthday dinner was cancelled, and I ate chili and took another nap. The next day, I tried to get my car, but the tires were so slick that it would not move on the flat parking lot. I went home and took a nap. My birthday dinner was cancelled again Saturday night. This afforded me the opportunity to take a long nap.
On Sunday, the family went to lunch at Chili’s. The ice had thawed and my car would finally move. I went home and took a nap.
My birthday dinner has been rescheduled for tonight if the weather allows it to happen. If it doesn’t, maybe I will just take another nap.
I bought new tires for my car this week and hauled the briefcases of work back to the office. Incidently, I barely even worked during the three day weekend. All in all it was not the most exciting birthday I have ever had, but it was not the worst. I did get some rest and learned that I am reputed to be a smart a** in some circles. I asked Patti and she assured me that it was a limited circle. Maybe, I should take solace in the fact that I am known for something. At least, I am playing. When you are my age and in the CHEAP SEATS that has got to count for something!
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