Father, You know I am so much better at gathering stuff to pack than actually packing it. Much, much better. By the time I hit the airport, forget paying for an extra suitcase. OMG, will I need an extra plane?
First, for all of you who require normalcy, I’ve recorded one everyday reason for thanksgiving: good weather. Here in Indiana, we expect winter, like an obnoxious relative, to blow in during November. Instead, sunshine, moderate temperatures, and glorious fall colors have prevailed. We Hoosiers are suspicious, but grateful.
Now begins the weird list. I am thankful for:
Finally, I’m thankful for hours in the Atlanta airport, surrounded by 4.72 million other travelers. As I stood in a restroom line, a janitor took charge. When her superhuman ears detected a stall lock’s jiggle, she directed the next woman to it.
Insignificant? No. When 2.36 million women wait in line, two seconds apiece add up. This janitor’s heroics comprised the difference between making our flights and dying of old age in the airport.
Even better: she touched our shoulders and said warmly, “Blessings on you today, honey.”
A little weird.
But sometimes weird blessings are the best.
Your Extraordinary Ordinary: What weird gratitude comes to your mind?
First, never lose a phone. Especially in an airport, where tech-loving monsters lurk.
Five minutes after forgetting my phone, I dashed back. It already had landed in a monster’s maw.
My husband tracked my cell’s location. Still in that area! We searched until our flight began boarding.
No monsters. He/she must have morphed back into human form.
No phone.
Rather than pay for rescheduling, with a possible overnight stay, we flew home.
While my family will use a microwave until it makes us glow in the dark, Hubby comes from a family of fixers. They conquer all weird car noises. They can smell a suspicious flame from miles away. If a meteor dents their patio furniture, serenity — and restored furniture — soon return to their backyard.
So, once home, Hubby continued his mission. He attempted to contact the airport lost and found — kept as secret as the Federal Witness Protection Program. Upon finally unmasking the department’s identity, he learned they allowed no phone calls. He completed a complicated online form.
Lost and found did respond. Zero success.
Hubby ordered a new phone. However, rather than keeping my original number, as we requested, the company representative deactivated it. She buried it on the distant cyber-planet Zorxx, where no human had gone before.
Ack! Changing one’s cell number compares to switching universes. Or purses.
Still, I said, “If the new number doesn’t make me glow in the dark—”
“No, the company made the mistake,” Hubby declared. “They should fix it.”
He soon discovered our communication company, while short on communication, was adept at designing phone trees:
(Music plays. And plays. And plays.)
Recording: Welcome to Hope-You-Die-Before-We-Answer Company. To pay your bill, press one. If you are ecstatic with our service, press two—
Hubby: I paid our bill. I’m anything but ecstatic with your service.
Recording: Thank you. Press four for our 12-phone plan. Press five for our 24-phone plan. Press six—”
Hubby: If I have a complaint?
Recording: No, if you want to know what we had for lunch.
Hubby: I don’t CARE!
Recording: The caviar was delicious. Click.
(Music plays again. And again. And again.)
Recording: Welcome to Hope-You-Die-Before-We-Answer Phone Company. …
When Hubby finally forced himself to request the lunch menu, he made progress. Fourteen people gave him different advice. After three weeks, none had restored my phone number.
While practicing medicine, my husband fought government regulations regarding bandage width. He grappled with insurance demands that cancer patients, instead of battling disease with radiation, visit tanning beds.
I believed in my fix-it warrior. He would crash through red tape. Force them to retrieve my original phone number from the planet Zorxx.
I was right!
Your Extraordinary Ordinary: Who’s your family fix-it person?