The Good Samaritan goes to Town

It all started with a simple but dreaded question:

"Can you do me a favor?"

Ryan stops his hobbling trek across the living room as I pass inociently by on the way back to my room to return to accounting for a royal Erish wedding. I grimace but it's gone by the time I turn around. "What?"

"Can you go get my a Gatorade? I got way overheated out mowing with Jordan."

Crap. That requires driving. And going outside which lately makes it really hard for me to breath. Plus I'm wearing a skirt with tennis shoes and a t-shirt that are good for being sick around the house but not so great to be seen in public. I have no make up, my hair was brushed this morning but could stand another run through and I generally look as crappy as I feel. But it doesn't take that long to run to a gas station.

I heave a big sigh but put my big-girl face on. "I guess."

Before I got out the door, it turned into a get a pizza while you're out since we're both hungry. Since I had been nosing about the kitchen, I couldn't deny it. I troop out to my car which does it's normal protest of not wanting to start. On the third try, it sputters. I'm pretty sure my car hates driving as much as I do.

I take my foot off the break and it begins backing on it's own - faster than it's normal pace. But when I hit the gas... nothing happens. It's going five miles an hour with it all the way down. I turn on the block away from my intended direction to see if it'll smooth out. It gains speed, going in bursts, not wanting to stop and then sluggishly protesting to go.

I take it around the block and repark it. Can't go. I'll have to find food here and Ryan will have to live without. So I go inside and Ryan asks if I can take Dad's car. I refuse because I feel like I'm gonna crash that car every time I drive it. So he goes down and get's grandma's keys and an order for a second pizza. After sorting out the money from Ryan from the money from pop from my money in my wallet, I go down to grandma's car. Which I can't get the seat to go forward. It's one of those, can't reach the gas pedal days when you feel like you got trapped in a video game where random people shoot from buildings and other cars try to run you over. My perception is off, making things even harder. So I go between imagining Andrew's first meeting on the streets of New York where the fastest car is a total of 30 mph, to complaining to the dashboard how much I hate driving.

I get to the pizza place, heading inside, ordering two pizza's then frowning as I look through my wallet. Ryan gave me a twenty and I have fifty 1.00 bills. Not really what I feel like paying with. I remember I stuck the other money in the back, so I pull it out and pay. Then go back to thinking about Andrew who's not nearly as bothered by cars or people or being poor and looking ragged as I am.

I spot a gas station that is easy to get to and will put me on the back roads to get home and pull in, searching for a place to park. I find one behind the store where the wind is blocked and the wall blows out hot air into the already sweltering weather. I go in, get the gatorade that started it all and the man points out there's a two for one special. So I get another. Ryan won't mind having two and he already said I could get one for myself. Which is funny because yesterday I was DYING to have one but waaaay too sick to go anywhere and I didn't want to ask anyone or inconvience them.

So I went without.

I leave the gas station and get back in the car, putting the drinks by the pizza, the key in the ignition and...

It sputters.

Great. I take a breath and try it again. It sputters - only less this time than last.

"Really? Really???"
I'm almost home. Almost done with this mission I never wanted to do in the first place.

It gives a pathetic attempt and gives up.

I look at the sky. "Please God. Heal this car. I need it to work."

This time it hardly responds at all.

I laugh hopelessly, then head back into the nice man at the station. See, the other part of this story started at 7:00 this morning when my phone buzzed and informed me that because of a low balance my service is being cut off. Apparently whatever credit card my parents had it on has expired or something. But they didn't answer their phone so I don't have mine.

The Valero man explains their phone is tied in and there are no payphones. I ask if there's anywhere nearby that has one.

"H.E.B."

"Thanks." I step out and look around. H.E.B isn't nearby. And it's hot. And I can't breath outside in the first place.

I go back to the car, say another prayer and try it. In this case, praying is about as helpful as cussing. I go across the street to search out H.E.B. I'm only about 7-10 miles from the house. If I eat some of that pizza, I might have a chance to make it to H.E.B.... Wherever that is.

A lady comes out in a suit who looks like she might have a cell phone on her and be willing to help the little creature in the parkinglot out. She says there's one in the building and points to the funiture store. I go there, pull on the door and nothing happens.

Maybe they're closing. Maybe she thought I was going to hold her at gunpoint. Maybe it's the other door. I try the second door and she rolls down her window, pointing to the first. I try it again. Nothing happens. She makes jerking movements and I yank on it. It opens and cool air hits my face. Inside there's a man in front of the counter and a man behind.

I ask if I can use the phone, trying to remember my grandmother's number. For some reason the middle part always jumbles in my brain. It takes me about three tries before the call goes through because I hit the wrong button or it went through twice instead of once. I finally ask for the area code because I'm not sure I'm getting it right anyway. But I am and the phone rings and rings until the friendly man that always answers on the machine informs me no one is available to take my call.

"Hi guys. It's Lindsey. I'm broken down at the Valero across from the theater. If someone can come get me, that would be great..."

I hang up and thank the man who looks worried at the flustered little vegabond before him. "They never answer," I say. "They'll come."

Then head back out to the hot car. Where "Everything happens for a reason" pops into my head. But I'm pretty sure this isn't a devine appointment as much as somebody didn't do something right with the car reaction. It's hot. I munch pizza that doesn't taste good.

Then go to the front of the station so they can see me.

What if they didn't hear? What if Grandma's still downstairs and Ryan's in his room and Pop's asleep....

Minutes tick by. I get tired of hanging around the front corner of the store and head back to the car. It's hot. Especially back where I parked. I eat some more pizza so I'll stop shaking. It still doesn't taste good.

Then turn on the radio to try and calm myself. It's some dude singing about what he's going to do to me once he gets me on the floor and I flick it off. I'm standing on street corners here. I don't need any reminders.

I go back to the front until I get tired of looking like a flustered Pentecostal who forgot to brush her hair and only owns one pair of shoes. And the gas fumes make it hard to breath. What if I have an astma attack on top of this?

I go back to the car and flip through the stations. I'm about to flick it off again when I hear a phone ring. It seems a weird place for a cermercial but there's no phones in...

It rings again and something glows from the middle of the car. I pull it out to see "Home" flashing on my grandpa's cell phone.

I laugh in this exasperated, "you've got to be joking" way. I pick it up and Ryan tells me Grandpa's coming in Dad's car.

So I go back to the front where he can see me and stand for what feels at least ten minutes. I call back to make sure he knows where the place is and Grandma says he just left because he couldn't find keys or - something.

So I wait and wait and return to the car. He shows up, my knight in shining armor. There's no jumper cable in the trunk. He explains he looked in all the other cars at home (except mine because he didn't have a key to my trunk - which is where one is). So we go to the Sugar Shack and steal one of Rocky's. Only it still won't start because the cable is shot. So we go back to the sugar shack, drop off his keys. I decide Ryan's only getting one Gatorade and start drinking the other.

And my brother calls me as we pull into the drive to ask how it's going. I answer I'm in the front yard and he hangs up. Pop grins. "He just wants to know where the pizza is."

I smirk. "I thought of that already. I figured even if you didn't hear the machine somebody would notice I was gone because they'd be hungry." I just wasn't sure how they'd find me at the Valaro.

So I meet my brother at the top of the stairs who says he's "SOOO sorry all that happened." And receives a dry, 'Yeah me too," and cold pizza.

So now I have a half-drunk Gatorade beside me, my poor grandfather is out in the sweltering heat trying to get "the good" car going. Oh well. At least I don't have rehearsal tonight.

Week 3, DAY 2 EVENING

I began the first account of a Royal Erish wedding - or any Erish wedding for that matter - today. I wrote for a bit, getting all sentimental (or maybe I was channeling the parents of the bride) before I had to get ready for the CYT meeting. I met with Sandi about this summer's camp. I'm doing Lion King - which I've seen a total of once in my life. Getting home from that, I teased with Lauren in the kitchen. Grandma promised (again) to cut my hair today and we were going to do a photo shoot for my book for the paper.

So to get Grandma off the phone, Lauren and I picked up the ends of our hair and waved them as we danced in and out of the room in front of Grandma. (Yes, we're in a house of drama freaks.)

It worked.

I finanally got my hair cut. It's been over a year and I've been trying since January. Don't panic. We only took off about three inches of damage and touched up the layers. Then we curled it and did my makeup and - it was time for rehearsal.

So I looked dang good at rehearsal. I brought my book to show my fellow actors and two said they're going to go to Hastings this week and buy them. Hope Hastings actually pulled them back out... *whistles at ceiling*. We're going to have a float in the parade (one of the biggest in Texas, I hear - though most of it's random cars with nothing on them...lol. Or trucks. We like showing off trucks in the parade apparently.") Anyhow... I'm trying to remember the last time I was in a parade. I think it was for winning the bronze star award in 4-H that I honestly had no clue what I did to get. It was hot. Terribly hot and I spent a good majority with my head on my knees, melting in sweat.

This will be different, of course.

Though parades are really funny things if you think about it. People lining up to see other people going down the street....

Anyway. It's too late for rambling.

I got to rehearsal and we did the go-go scene. The entire time. I spent the last hour running down the isle and doing this fast dance with lots of jumping and shaking and spinning (I get dizzy super easy.) And when I wasn't doing that I was waiting in the back to run on. James has discovered if he pokes me, I'll jerk. If he grabs me, I'll nearly run into chairs trying to get away. And if he wrestles me... well, he thinks I should learn self-defense.

I'm just going to say I wasn't really trying to hurt him.

So Jenn, James and I all worked on self-defense and watched him jump up from laying on the ground in Jacki Chann (sp?) style. But mostly we ran and danced. I'm rethinking doing that song in heeled boots.

Oh. I discovered something else today. I can indeed do a cartwheel.

This is amazing. Last time I tried I had a seven and eight year old version of my cousins laughing their heads off and then showing me how to do it. And I couldn't catch on.

After rehearsal I made my escape - or tried. My car took five or six times before it died on me. Even when I got it going, it wasn't always registering that I was pushing the gas pedal and just kind of - sat there.

So that was a bit scary. I got home and burned my grilled cheese talking to Jess. Now I'm sleepy. It's an hour after I'm supposed to be in bed.

And 6:00 is coming early. I can't believe that dream was one I had last night. It seems like I crammed in two days into one. And tomorrow will be busier. I still have that photo shoot. I need to make my advertisement for the program. I have another CYT meeting from 1-3 and rehearsal from 6-10.

And somewhere in there I need to walk and write an Erish wedding and...

other stuff I can't remember.

So good night dear readers!

Week 3, Day 2

"And today we're going to see Cheapside," my aunt says.

I grin at Sarah and we quote together, "I hear she has an uncle, who lives in Cheapside. Inwardly, I'm so excited to be in England and especially so close to where Jane Austin set all of her novels. We're in Bath - my entire family and Grandparents and an Aunt and Uncle that live there and the Jinkins family.

We go for a walk, listening to my aunt talk about the country until we pass a old graveyard. I point. "Is there anyone famous in there?"

"I'm not sure. I've never been in there," my aunt says.

I grin and turn into the gate, "If I lived right down the street, I'd probably know where everyone was."

And somehow - I do. Not everyone, but it's like as soon as I read the name or date on a stone, I know who the person was and what they did for a living. There are modern dates. A few from WWII. And one that I squint at. "Does that say 1240????"

"No." Ryan says. "It's 1840."

"Oh," I pass the tombstone up, "I didn't see it that well, I guess."

But something's not right in this place. When I look at the words, they're fuzzy before they clear up. 1840 is just a few years after Texas won its independence but I don't know what was going on in England.

"Oh, look, Jami," I point. "There's some pictures."

Actually there's an area with a few stones that have portraits on them and I steer that way to see. A man's portrait lays on top of a trunk and I breifly wonder what's inside before I'm studying his picture as I walk past.

He was a bankrobber type whose dressed like a gentleman with a large tophat and a white ruffle at his neck. He's smiling. But as I walk by, eyes following him - his eyes begin to follow me. The smile fades until he is sending the absolute blackest stare I've ever seen.

That - is creepy. And only Jami who's on the other side of me, looking the other way keeps me from freaking out. Still, I quicken my steps and reach for her hand. We can't go back out toward the gate without passing him again, so I tug her further into the yard to make a long circle back around.

My aunt's golden retriever bounds after us, grabbing the edge to my dress in it's teeth to tug me back toward the gate. Then it jumps onto my back, pinning me to the ground. Now I do panic in earnest. When I get the animal off me I call that I thought we ought to head back to the house.

We do and find my uncle preparing his sermon for the next day. My heart is racing so I walk around the house, where my Grandmother says she wants to take the stray dog home to replace her old one. Only I don't remember her having a dog or even liking them.

Then I return to the livingroom where Jami is saying, "But it was moving! I saw it! The man in the picture looked at me!"

"He couldn't have looked at you. That sort of thing doesn't happen. Ghosts aren't real," says my uncle.

I swallow, heart sinking. "Actually - I saw it too. It was moving. He was looking. I just - didn't say anything because I didn't think Jami saw."

My uncle looks disturbed.

"I've heard other people say they've seen things there," my aunt says.

I leave the room. I don't want to know. Then I talk to the pretty English girl that's been picked up by my grandparents who want to take her home with them.

"You'll like America," I say, sitting on the bed.

"Actually, I'm not going." Her eyes sparkle. "I got a job as a teacher. I'm going to start this Fall."

"Oh, you'll like that," I say.

My phone buzzes from it's place on the table. The girl is sitting between me and it so I point. "Oh, can you hand me that. It's Val. She's my friend from America."

"Oh no. It was my phone." The girl - who's dressed like a maid from the 1800's pulls out her phone to look through it. I'm pretty sure that particular buzzing is what mine does but getting to it would require climbing over the girl's lap.

"Oh no it's not," she says. "No one called."

"It's mine."

She hands me my phone and I flip it open.

I finished that book u told me I'd like. It was long and hard to read but I did like it.

Oh. That book. The one about the maid going to work for two brothers in the English countryside. It had been good till it got to the part about the man in the portraite. Then I stopped reading it. But I didn't remember telling her she'd like it. Actually. I haven't talked to this particular friend in years. She's from the fanfiction site.

Oh. Yeah, that one got weird. Sorry.

It did get weird. She ended up courting the brother and he was only like fourteen. I liked it before that part.

My phone buzzes again and this time I wake up. Finding myself in a bed in America and it IS Val who's doing the buzzing.

I check the phone for real.

Awake?

Or stuck in sleep....?

I type. I am awake... Sorta.

I sway. The room is dark. Last thing I knew I was trying to sleep over the laughter of family and friends watching "Nomeo and Juliette" in the other room. Then - it's morning before I even know I fell asleep. And dang it, I'm not in England anymore. Which means there's no creepy ghost guy either. I feel slightly better.

I was very sleepy because I don't remember putting on my shoes at all. But when I get outside, I tell Val my dream, swearing that I haven't been watching or reading or thinking anything ghost related. I'm walking down the road when a movement catches my eye and a skunk crosses the road ahead of me.

I gasp. "Oh there's a skunk!"

I watch the critter who's pretty docile and used to people, but I still give it the right away. I'm sleepy and jumpy and not making a lot of sense but I chose the non-skunky road to continue my walk on. I've switched subjects before I gasp. "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!"

How many are there? And now there's one both sides of me.

"They're - coming up from the river, right by the haunted house," I say.

The haunted house is named by my cousin because of the long stairs going to a gothic type door and the rounded look of the house. It was built just before the last flood. I've been inside. It's set up weird with stairs leading to tiny rooms that are hardly level with each other, random lofts in the room and something that looks like a stage for kids.

It's a weird house. What's stranger is that people actually buy it when they hardly buy any homes down here in the flood zone. But they only stay a few months and then it's back on the market.

So it's known as the haunted house and "OH MY GOSH THERE'S A LIGHT ON!"

A tiny room in the top corner of the side wall lights like a beacon into the dusky morning when most other houses are still dark.

So my words come out more like, "There's a skunk! They're coming from the river by the haunted house and OH MY GOSH, THERE'S A LIGHT ON!"

I start sucking in breathes and then start laughing. "I don't know what's wrong with me today..."

"I don't either," Val says, giggling. "You're not usually the one to freak out."

But I'm not really awake either and it takes will to go another round so I can make two miles. Then I cook breakfast, eating by myself and head into my room to read my Bible. Back to Job. Almost to the part where God starts speaking and things get good. And three chapters in, my eyes are droooooping...

I'm falling asleep. Must stay awake. I have awesome scenes to write. I get up. Must stay - whoa, dizzy....

I turn out my light and crash in the bed.

Must stay awake... I'm going to regret this. I'll probably be just as tired when I wake up as...

Images of Tehveor and what I'm supposed to be writing float through my head as my thoughts begin taking on lives of their...

MUST STAY AWAKE!
Nah. I'm not going to get anything done.

I begin feeling like Karl and I wonder if he's falling asleep on the couch leaving poor Thacia all....

MUST STAY....

Erik comes into my brain and I realize all of these charecters are the ones who are taking it easy for the moment - most recovering from some illness or waiting for life-saving treatment or...

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

My phone is going off again. I roll over. It's been about 15 minutes since I first turned out the light. It's Val again asking if I can email something later.

May as well do it now and try to wake up so I can get stuff done.

Val. You're my salvation.

So I email her. Then answer with the next piece of Rome where Malcomb and Felix have just found their younger brother and the slave he's trying to berid of.

Then write for the James family all sitting around the table - except for Karl who's on the couch.

And then I think if I don't write my blog now, I'm going to forget it since I hardly remember much of this morning. Except skunks. And Buzzing cell phones.

And now...

I'm still sleepy.

Week 3, Day 1

Today I woke at 7:40, read my Bible in Job and found myself confused. I can't wait to get to the part where God's talking because half of what the four guys are saying sounds logical to me and the other half sounds like blubbering. It's been a long time since I read that book.

I walked 2.27 miles and stretched a bit. I found it harder today - probably because of a certain four-year-old who's very cute but weighs as much as I do jumping on my back rapidly in succession yesterday just before he spit on me...

Showered, cleaned the sink and toilette, picked up my room. Ate random things for breakfast and breakfast food for lunch...

And wrote a mock newspaper article for "The Calling." Val is going to help me revamp it and give it an outsiders view. I've been throwing back and forth ideas with the grandparents about ways to get the word out and make the book available in different places so people can easily access them. I found Inews with CNN where people can submit their own stuff so I'm looking into doing that.

Today I'm hoping to write an introduction to my book to film within the next few days to put on youtube and facebook. I'm also going to take a copy along to rehearsal to show my fellow actors whom I've been talking to about writing.

It's hard to keep the ball rolling in one spot while you focus on another. But I'm learning. Every book that comes out is going to make things easier.

Goals for this Week

Morning:

Walk 2 miles with Val.

à Bible read

à Vitamin

à Face washed/dressed/hair

à Bathroom cleaned

à Breakfast made

à Kitchen cleaned

à Room cleaned

à 2 hour or 4000 words of “The Captive”

à 1 hour publicity for “The Calling.”

Night:

à Face washed

à Teeth brushed

à Room picked up

à Chapter read

à Bed by 10:30

It’s my goal this week to incorporate regular house cleaning AND to finish the first draft of “The Captive!”

Five days – lots of Erish events to wrap up.

Can she do it???

So this week I hope to:

A. put up a video introducing my book to the world.

B. Put up a video reading the first chapter of the book to the world.

C. Set up at least one more book signing somewhere.

Friday Night

I worked for hours on rewriting "The Captive". I have two drastically different endings for King Galaphy. And I like them both for different reasons. It's hard to know which one to keep. I may have to somehow work in other viewpoints to cover or - something.

Anyway. I've had a good day. Except my computer fan quit. It didn't break or snag. It just - got really hot without spinning. Hmmmm.

I'm torn on sleeping in tomorrow or getting up early. Some days I'm sleepy all day and some I'm not. It doesn't seem to have much to do with the waking time as much as how long I stay asleep at night. But I seem to get off to a better start when I stick with the routine.

Which... I just realized I broke anyway because it's 10:41.

But tonight... I'm on a writing roll. So I will write.

These sort of days don't come often enough.

Friday

Today... I didn't get up at 6:30. I went back to sleep. I got up at 8:30 and worked in the garden. Then helped Ryan clean the house. Then worked for several hours on reading through "Across the Distance" again only getting through about 13 pages. Hmmm...

Anyway, I'm in a fairly good mood. The Johovah Witness's came back and we talked about um... how people just die and don't go to Heaven or Hell. Then at the Judgment Day (which is really a thousand years reign) they come back and get to prove themselves humble enough and obey Christ without the influence of Satan to stay in the New World (which is really the old world restored without being burned.)

The problem was... it threw me off so badly, I couldn't think of any way to prove that we die and go to Heaven (or Hell). I did point out that if we got that second chance, then it was our actions that saved us and obliterated Christ's death and salvation which they pointed out was what gave us that chance. When I pointed out it was by faith and not works, they got off on the bunny trail of how without works to prove our faith to God, we weren't really saved because if we keep sinning and saying we're sorry, we're really not saved.

Or something like that. It was confusing and I kept praying for God to give me words to say but I didn't really hear anything. Anyway. We'll see. I love Christianity but I hate getting tied up in debates over theology.

Now I think I'm going to work on "The Captive." And I need to come up with more ways to advertise "The Calling." Any ideas, anyone?