...more "good things"

when I returned to Mudville in 1978 from Chicagoland...
among the service providers I had to find...
was someone to cut my hair...

I'd been spoiled in CL by becoming a client of a CL native...
who had made it "Big" in NYC & returned every 6 weeks to CL...
to spend a long weekend with family & friends...
and cut hair from dawn 'til well past dark...

it was hard to get "in" with Marilyn, you had to know someone...
otherwise you might wait forever to get a cancellation spot...
I got in & the woman, who was a genius with scissors...
would coax a stylish-looking head of hair...
out of my straight, no body, floppy mop...

in Mudville,1978, I accidentally stumbled upon Robin...
when I finally darkened the door of a long-time Mudville salon...
[Sir G's... which may now be defunct for all I know...]
she seemed to "get" me...and my hair...
didn't try to talk me into a bunch of froo-froo stuff...
and things were fine for a year or so...

then one day, she told me that she was leaving town...
and sending all her clients to another "girl" at another Sir G's...

Wendy hadn't been cutting hair too long [a year or so...]
but Robin liked her sense of style & thought that I'd do well with her...
and since now, 30 years later, I'm still going to her...
I guess Robin was right...

I've "followed" Wendy all over Mudville in those 30 years...
she's gotten divorced, re-married & had several kids...
her husband owns the Mudville Auto Center Car Wash...
and a few years ago, he built her a salon inside Carwash...
where there is also a gift shop, a café & even a shoeshine stand...

so yesterday, I went to get my hair cut at 4:30 PM...
and I was NOT looking forward to the conversation we needed to have...
my current financial state has left me needing to make cutbacks...
and nearly $40 every 5 weeks is more than I can justify for a haircut...

it had been 8 weeks since the last one...
[I had to cancel 2 weeks ago]
and I was looking pretty shaggy...

now, you might say that I should just find a cheaper haircut...
and I have to say that not everyone can successfully cut my hair...
and since I never know when a job opportunity might present itself...
I can't afford to look shaggy & unkempt...

so with a heavy heart, I asked about possibilities...
for a less-expensive cut...
perhaps just the cut, no shampoo or blow-dry...
there is already no styling involved...

it was a year or so ago, she told me that because of being a long-time client...
I was paying $5 less for my haircut than everyone else did anyway...

she said that my haircut really didn't use all the services...
that were included in her price, so she offered to drop my cost...
to $25 [almost $15 less]
and we decided to restyle my cut so that I could go 8 weeks...
without looking shaggy... what a relief !

so when I went to pay, she would only take $25...
I have always tipped her & now she wouldn't let me...

she said,"You've been good to me all these years...
now it's my turn to give back to you...
when you get in a better financial place, then you can tip again..."

I gave her one of my "organizing" business cards...
and she said, "Do you do garages ?"...
not heavy clean-out, but decluttering all the stuff...
that her kids have stored there as well as just simplifying her own stuff...

so she's going to call me...
this is my 4th "maybe job"...
so I hope something comes through soon...
if I can successfully help her...
there will be word of mouth advertising that could be very useful...

thanking Wendy again for her kindness...
I got into my car & thanked God for His goodness...

encouraged, I steeled myself to venture into WallyWorld...
where I found the 20lb containers of my chosen kitty litter...
at an unheard-of $6.50 each !!! [I got 6]
[they are close to $10.50 in most other stores]

I found the Excedrin B&B I really needed for much less...
and the body wash I was almost out of, for $3 each[about $1.50 less]

I found the green pepper I wanted for $.50 per lb...
the red onion for $.65 p/lb & a couple of other things, cheap...

at the check-out, I used up my $50 gift card...
then tried to use the $100 one...
it wouldn't go through...
probably because the bill was more than the card value...

the people in line behind me were patient...
the checker was nice, but I had to give-up & use my ATM debit card...

later, the gift card wouldn't go through at a gas pump either...

it came with a sticker saying that it was active...
so I'm just assuming that if I'd used it first at WW...
it would have worked, but I used up the other...
and I seem to remember that no gift cards work "at the pump"...

c'est la guerre... I'm just assuming that God has other plans for this card...

so, BC, if you thought that you'd ruin my day with that pathetic fent...

I say again...



*spfffbbbbtttttttt* !!!!