The day started innocently enough. I had to rush through my morning workout so that Mr. Scully could go to work. When I returned from the gym, I picked up my daughters and headed out to do some errands, since the stores had been closed yesterday for Good Friday, and would also be closed tomorrow, Easter Sunday.
Some time later, as we returned home, I noticed that our neighbour around the corner had set up the first yard sale of the spring. My girls absolutely love these things because they can buy comic books and toys in vast quantities, without spending all their allowance. While they perused the merchandise, I made small talk with our neighbour, who had recently sold his house. As it turns out the neighbours are moving in order to take up missionary service with their church to a small country in Central America. I sensed a mild tingling of my spider senses... and for half a moment a reflex that I thought was long banished from my sub-conscious kicked in.... could some of the merchandise in this yard sale be demonized?? I wondered. I dismissed the notion entirely. This neighbour was a perfectly nice guy, with a toddler in his arms. There is NO WAY anything here could be demonized.....
Just then, my youngest daughter pulled something out of the toybox. "Look Mom!!! Can we get it??" My eyes flew open as I turned and looked at it square in the eyes: it was none other than a Smurf hand puppet!! I scoffed silently at the idea again. NO!! There are no such things as demons!! I nodded and smiled, "Of course we can get it, my dear! It's so cute!!" The girls continued in their "shopping" expedition, and $5 later we left with two bags full of assorted toys and books. And a Smurf hand puppet.
It was now time to do a few more errands. But before we left, I felt an overwhelming urge to thumb my nose at the bazillions of Ottawa Senators fans in town, and found myself adorning the windows of my car with GO LEAFS GO! Many horrified stares from passers-by greeted us as we made our way from our domicile to the store where I had planned to buy some new uniforms for work. I was looking for a parking spot, when I noticed four well-dressed young adults leaving their car and going toward the store. "They look like dubs" I thought to myself, and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw one of the young women carrying a matched set of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. I remember doing that particular trick when I was auxiliary pioneering. You carry the mags in front of you, but not too obviously, and continue to count your time while you browse around the store. HA! I was going to put a stop to THAT!
The store was very crowded - they had just had their Grand Opening in the previous week - it was wall-to-wall people! I picked up some uniforms and struggled a bit through the crowded aisles of the store. There was a rack of Toronto Maple Leafs flags in the bin directly in front of me. It was a sign. I NEEDED one for my car. I had kind of liked the shocked looks I got from my GO LEAFS GO! signs in the car windows, and wanted more. Impulsively, I added a flag to my purchases, not even caring about how much it would cost.
I went back to the fitting rooms to try on the uniforms. When I emerged a few minutes later, who was standing right there, but little Ms. Dub with her set of magazines. I quickly approached her and her service partner and asked her if I could have the magazines. She looked so surprised - perhaps she hadn't "placed" any magazines at all this morning. She did make a feeble attempt to present them to me - all she said was "This one is about children". I thanked her as she handed them to me and then put the magazines in my purse. She gets to count a placement and recount to all her dub friends about how a lady with two children walked up to her in a crowded store and asked for the magazines on "children". She will think it was Divine Guidance TM , when in reality, it was Demonized-Garage-Sale-Smurf-Handpuppet-from-the-Christian-Evangelical-Missionary's-House Guidance. HAHAHAHAAA I get the satisfaction of knowing that she had to quit counting her time the second the mags hit my hot little hands, and also knowing that unbeknownst to her, she was "placing" magazines with the most notorious "inactive person" in the city. BWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAA!
We waited in the check-out line FOREVER. I was growing impatient because I needed to make two more stops on the way home. Game Five in the Leafs-Flyers series started at 3pm. But I needed to buy that FLAG for my car! As soon as we got back to the car, the Toronto Maple Leafs flag was given a prominent spot attached to the rear passenger window.
I am now comfortably watching the first period of the hockey game. The Flyers are leading 2-1. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! But it is the FIRST period. I will have to invoke the obvious Powers of the Demonized-Garage-Sale-Smurf-Handpuppet-from-the-Christian-Evangelical-Missionary's-House to turn this game around.
I will be back later with pics.
Love, Scully
(not having much success with the pics class)
(let's try this again)