I drove from Troy this morning in an extremely heavy rainfall. The only time I remember such harshly falling and unremitting rain was the time M. drove Dorothy and me to Cape Cod where Joe and Dave were already preparing for our vacation there. She had to pull over briefly because of the density of the rainfall, but we arrived at the cottage in time to see that Joe had posted a sign on the door: Would the winner of tonight's American Idol finale be Bo Mice or Scary Underwear?
The reason for this morning's drive was a medical appointment which had been pending since August, with the present doctor, or since June, with his predecessor. I got up early, took a shower (not knowing I'd be toweling off again in a few hours,) stopped at the post office to mail a letter, and arrived at my appointment early, either 25 minutes, or 10 minutes if you don't subtract the 15 minute pre-appointment time early arrival. I'd pre-registered online so I only had to give my name at the desk. I didn't mind waiting; I'd brought the T.U. so I could read and do the Crypt0-Quote. There were only several people in the waiting room area of the practice I was seeing. Seated, I observed the usual suspects, namely a senior citizen / old codger in heated disagreement with the rep behind the barrier, glass and cloth. Apparently he had the wrong appointment date and she told him he would have been notified of same. He loudly took issue, saying he had received no letter, and that pretty much was his way of being notified of anything. She finally told him his appointment was Dec. 12, and said she could print out a paper notice for him. "Harumph, ok," he conceded. Next to appear was a not so usual suspect---a woman who looked to be in her 70's clad in a complete pink ballerina outfit: Tutu, tights, ballet slippers and her hair in a very high bun. I kept reading my paper, waiting to be called in.
And then the lights flickered, went off, came back on, and then went off and stayed off. There were only a few of us waiting, but the staff went into motion, much like the excitement of schoolkids on snow days. Someone must have called and confirmed the power outage, most likely the wind it was deduced. Someone else said another office in the building had power, and another said it was because they had a generator, which our office did not. So as other patients entered, the staff, now unleashed from their computers, approached the new arrivals with pen and paper in hand and equipped with flashlights to register them for their visit.
It became my turn to be called and I was told the office had been notified by the power company that there could be a delay of up to 2 hours, though possibly before that. I could reschedule, go get something to eat, or wait, whatever I wanted. I decided to wait a while, and tried to read my paper in the dark. About 10 minutes later, a woman came to the middle of the room to announce what I'd already been told. But now there was an addition: those undergoing a certain procedure would have to reschedule. I guess there are no flashlights suited for that.
So I left. No rain was in sight when I'd entered, but now it was pouring. I'd worn a suede Jacket that D. had given me, so I took it off and rolled it up to keep it as dry as I could, and turned the car heater on to try to dry off. I left about 10:30 and arrived home at exactly 11:15. I would gladly point out to DOT exactly where the white line at the edge of the road needs to be more visible, as that was the route that led me home.
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