The day

One of those days...

I thought I was going to get to make my first report of a threat against me today, but it turned out the guy was only drunk (at 7:30 in the morning) and acting stupid. After a little verbal abuse, he grinned and slurred out, "Yerallright!" Okay then.

Got lucky today. Today was cycle 18. My regular cycle 18 is an easy route, based on my knowledge of other cycle 18s. It begins at the intersection of Castroville Rd. and Gen. McMullen, goes all the way up the west side of McMullen to Commerce, then heads west into the residential area and goes all the way back down to Castroville again, then back up to Commerce, then back down to Castroville and there it ends. Takes about 2 3/4 hours, so I consider it an easy route. The problem is, the split route that I get with it usually screws me over big time.

However, we are finally, for the first time since I've been working there (more than 2 years), at full complement of staff. We are not short anyone. So instead of having to do 650 meters total today, I had only 550. The split that I got is usually very bad, especially if I get the first half, but I got only the first 140 and that made it so much easier. Wow. The split does the areas on both sides of SW 24th St., including St. Mary's University (I think that's the right University). The full route is bad. I told one guy the other day about an alley on that route: "That is the most godawful worst 45 yards of alley I have ever been through."

So I finished work about 11:30--good day--and after punching out had to go way up to the Boy Scout (N.W. Military and Lockhill-Selma) store to get a neckerchief and neck slide, which I was originally told wouldn't be required for our troop's uniform but they changed their mind. Had to get it so all the Scouts would look the same for the flag-raising ceremony at the local high school football game tonight.

I got home and noticed that the air coming out from under the house was suspiciously cold. The dog knocked the a/c duct down. Man. So I wedged it back into place but tomorrow I have to get some duct tape and put it back the way it should be.

So anyway, my son got selected to carry the Texas flag tonight because of his height (he's the tallest of the Wolves). Heh. Well, he did a good job and said it was fun! But then we hung around because the kids had never seen a live football game and they both said it was boring--we left at halftime. Yep, they are my kids all right. I have never been excited by football, or any other sports for that matter.* By the time we got home they were ready for bed and I was ready for a pipe and some quiet time.

I might need a second pipe.

*Not entirely true. Once when I was in Abilene, I sat at a table in the student center where I could see through a window into the ping-pong room and watched a couple of Oriental guys apparently trying to kill each other with ping-pong balls. It looked like if one of them ever missed, that little ball would take his head clean off. It never happened, but that was the most intense game of ping-pong I ever witnessed.