The old man, old friends, and the giant beetle

I posted a story briefly last week that I then decided to delete for a few reasons but am now reposting.
1. The Old Man and his cars- There's an old single man who lives across the street from us. When he first moved in about 6 months ago, he knocked on our door to ask if he could use the phone since his hadn't been turned on yet. So after running in for the cordless for him to use outside, we struck up a conversation. He told me that he was recently divorced and showed me pictures of his two grown daughters. He was a nice guy but I noticed that he moved in with three vehicles. One is a big Cadillac, one is a little red pontiac firebird, and the other is a truck with a shell on it. Periodically I see him driving down the road and he's always in different cars. So I've wondered what his thought process is when he goes out for the day and decides what car to take. I think he drives his Cadillac to his family events and general running around town errands. Old people are supposed to drive Cadillac's you know. I think he drives his little red sports cars when he wants to drive around town picking up women. And the truck, well that is just a man's necessity incase you need to haul things or help people move. But who knows maybe he drives the little red sport car to the golf course to show it off to his buddies there and maybe he picks up redneck chicks in his truck. Next time I see him, I'm going to ask him how he chooses his day's vehicle. I mean, who has three cars to choose from? I'm jealous mostly. :-)

2. Old friends- I have recently gotten back in touch with two of my dear high school friends from high school who happened to find me on the website facebook.com
What a joy to reconnect with your old buddies. Barb and Diana, as I'll call them, were very important friends back then and we shared a lot of fun at the yearly girl's camp outing along with school things too. Barb was 3 years older than me, Di was 2 years older and they took me under their wings at school and they came to my high school basketball games. I'd go over and swim in their community pool with them too. There's just something about the old friends and people you knew so long ago that now help you feel young and alive again. There is just something special about the connection with people who knew you when you both were figuring out those complex years of your adolescent life. And it's just been great. We've only just begun to even "catch up" on life but it feels like we've never missed a day and have picked back up where we left off.

Thank you Barb and Diana for the influence and love and friendship you always extended to me. You are awesome and I look forward to hearing all the stories of your lives and families.

So if any of you out there are thinking of a special friend of long ago, go find them and reconnect. It will do your heart and soul a world of good. Friends are the family that you pick.

3.The giant Beetle- I work in a spa with a bunch of girly girls who like most girls can't stand bugs. Last Thursday I was there for a few appointments and by the sink was a big black giant beetle that someone had captured with a shot glass on top of it. I was disgusted at the sight but immediately felt compassion for the poor little beetle dying a slow death. I used to kill everything if I saw it in my house and I've realized that there's not need to kill. Just move them out. So during my whole massage appointment I was trying to think of how I could possible free this beetle without letting him get away. I wondered if the beetle was even still alive. So after the massage I walked into the back room and slightly moved the shot glass that was over him to see if he moved. He moved alright. So my plan was to get a plastic cup that I could have underneath the shot glass and I would move him over to the corner of the sink and he's just fall into the plastic cup and I could take him outside. But the plan in your head sometimes seems easier than it was. Oh my gosh! Part of the problem was that I really had the heeby-jeebies even attempting to do this but I could not let him die there. So I move it slowly toward the corner and he fell out but he missed the cup and landed in the stainless steel sink and was fighting it's hardest to get out now that he'd been freed. So I had to get a plastic knife to help him into the cup and the first few times I missed and he fell down in drain area but was so big he didn't fall in. So I'd try again and after the third or fourth time I finally got him in a plastic cup and put a towel over the top and quickly walked outside avoiding any clients to see that I was removing this gigantic bug. I walked to the side of the building and tossed him out into the bushes. I did it, I saved him from death. But as I walked away I thought, he probably died from the fall from the cup into the bushes. :-)