Friday 13

My grandmother was superstitious, and she would never travel on the 13th, even if it wasn't Friday. I thought this was foolish until just the other day. We blithely left Alvin on the 13th and arrived here in Thornton late that afternoon. The first thing we discovered when we walked into the house was that the A/C wasn't working. Since it was 96 degrees outside, we were a little concerned. After frantically digging through old bills in various drawers, I finally located one from the place that had done the A/C work for Judy's mother in the past. By then it was nearly five o'clock That's when we discovered we weren't getting a signal for the cell phone.

I got in the car and drove to the local cemetery, where I found both a nice shade tree and a cell phone signal. I got the A/C guy on the phone at 4:55 P. M., and of course no one would come to work on anything at that time of day. However, he said he'd send someone out the next day, "but you'll have to pay double-time."

I told him I'd pay and to send someone. When I got back to the house, I discovered that it was not only very hot but that my dial-up connection wasn't working. I didn't manage to get on-line until nearly 10 P. M. on Saturday.

Not that I was bothered. I can take the Internet or leave it alonge. It's not like I sit by the computer all the time. Not me. I can step away any time I want to.

Which is what I'll be doing in a few minutes when we begin to wend our weary way homeward. The A/C is fixed, the dial-up is working, and our relaxing weekend is over. I hope the A/C is working in Alvin when we get there.