Hers
Can you imagine:
A) Restaurant Lunch service ends at 2pm, but you can get dinner starting at 4pm? You’re a ‘late diner’ if you sit down to eat at 7pm.
B) A mailbox (what IS a mailbox???) full of FSI’s (free standing inserts or in other words coupons for everything)
C) “Do you need assistance out to the car with all your packages?”
How about this: you’re standing in Alcampo, looking at all the computer printers on display. A man, dressed in official Alcampo gear complete with wireless headphone, comes over to ask if you need assistance. With your nod, he says, “I’ll send Crystal over to answer any of your questions – she’s our expert in this area.” And Crystal appears, magically, within seconds. Sorted.
Ah, the joys of customer-service land. However, for us, we endured three flights over two days, waiting for Heathrow Hoppa buses in the freezing cold, and eight hours of time change. Not to mention our cats, who seemed to arrive refreshed and looking like they just got out of the cat beauty parlor, and not having just taken four car journeys and two airplane flights over a period of four days!
But it is good to be ‘home.’ And although Tucson is new to both of us, it feels like home already. People are friendly here. Neighbors wave as they drive by, seeing the newcomers on the block. There is a gentle pace of life here (not unlike our part of Spain) and, believe it or not, I’ve already (successfully) used my Spanish in a couple of situations!
I even came up with a unique plan for ‘getting to know the neighbors’…step one: lock yourself out of the house. Step two: knock on doors at all the houses around you. Step three: admit you’ve done something really stupid and beg for help!
Neighbor Robert, I will be forever in your debt for helping me call a locksmith while being (a little) late to pick up your daughter from school. As I said; nice people.
His
Arlene has said enough! Right, those of you know her will be saying. When Martin asked us to continue contributing to the Mag, it was Arlene’s suggestion that we split it, “His and Hers”.
Right, I said (collaboration on a single article being a perfect recipe for domestic discord). So, we have 500 words – and what has she done? Taken 340 of them is what she’s done.
I have sufficient space to say to all our friends that I miss you already! I miss taking a stroll around the village, stopping for a casual coffee with whomever, walking along the beachfront (in fact, walking anywhere – this is the land of the automobile), watching the sun rise over the Sierras and the Mediterranean view from Salobreña to Motril.
That said, the only thing currently disturbing me is that I have absolutely nothing to become curmudgeonly about. Wait until next month. Happy New Year to all.