Good Things

Good things happen to those that wait. Talking about my brother's visit to Serendipity. It took two years for him to recuperate from his last visit to the homestead but he and the new Jeep (unnamed--must be a man thing) arrived for a week's stay.

Was I ever glad to see him. And, yes, I had a bunch of "little" things to keep him occupied while I was at work. No rest for the weary traveler who, after driving straight through from PA (another man thing), promptly came down with a bad cold.

But that didn't stop him from putting in the alarm system, hooking up the camera, fixing the sound on the computer, changing bulbs, fixing the tv, dvd, and vcr so that they WORK and I can get picture in picture, working on the roof, fixing the kitchen plumbing, caulking holes and crevices, installing latches and grills, AND catching the damned frog that took up residence in the bathroom. I probably missed something but you get the picture. It'll take him a year to recuperate from his "light" duties. Thank you, ever so much.

So back to the frog, 'cause I know that caught your eye. This house should be renamed Wild Kingdom. There's the humongous groundhog. I tried to take a picture of him on his hind legs eating pecans but it didn't come out too well. But this will give you an idea of his size. Then we have the wasps who found a hole to climb through in the hallway. Can't pay for you to terrorize me. And, there's the frog who was perched on the edge of the bathtub waiting for me one morning.

Now, there is nothing more disgusting than seeing a grayish-brown blob on the edge of the tub. After looking around to see where on earth it could have come from, I grabbed wads of tissue to pick it up and it MOVED! Did I mention that I didn't have on my glasses? Shrieks all around. Hastily moved to the bedroom where brother dear was snoring away peacefully. What can it be? Still haven't moved to get my glasses but brother retrieved his. "It's a frog." Seems little buddy crawled through a hole in the baseboard. Thank God it wasn't a snake! So he's thrown into the toilet and flushed away. N-O-T!! He was clinging to the side of the bowl with all four legs widely spread, holding on for dear life. Dumped outside where, hopefully, he will remain.

And we talked and talked and talked some more. Visited Brownsville for a Sunday brunch. Stopped past Alex Haley's house for photos. Figured after driving 14/15 hours, something needed to be shown to prove that he made it to TN. Everything else in the manner of sightseeing requires driving to Memphis and we weren't up to that. And we tested our knowledge of Black history. Neither of us did well but we did find an error...first Black mayor of D.C., was Walter Washington; not Marion as the game proclaimed.

When he pulled out to return home, my bravado front was completely undone by my quavering voice and a few tears. At least he didn't have a wet front like he did last time.

Happy Birthday, JB. Looking for you next year.