TIME MARCHES ON... changes (Part 122e)

TIME MARCHES ON... changes (Part 122e)

It was a relief to know where the catalog had gone to. However, that knowledge didn’t help me to concentrate on the Chamber meeting. I was hoping that the meeting wouldn’t last all that long and I’d have time to thumb through it before leaving for home. The meeting was to finalize details on a Chamber sponsored promotion for Halloween. Since I knew absolutely nothing about it prior to arriving my presence was muted. Hobie had given me no information so I couldn’t offer much in the way of support. I did agree to participate prior to leaving but wasn’t really sure just what that entailed. As I walked out the door all I could do was hope that it had been the right decision.

I’d driven my car to the meeting even though it was held within walking distance so when it was over I could go right home. But, I did sit in the car and look through the catalog and I was impressed. It appeared that the company was way better than his previous one. I had already purchased a couple of the panties from a retail store in the city and I really liked them and I believed that Elle did as well. As I put the catalog back in the briefcase I knew I’d remember that it was there. All I had to do was to pick out some items for Elle to try and then to call Willie.

I’m pretty sure it was that week that I finally got through to him. I probably should’ve waited a bit longer because he still wasn’t settled into his office. He wasn’t in a position to write down the catalog numbers that I’d selected but, to appease, me he said he’d put some things in the mail. He told me to call again after I received them and after Elle had a chance to wear some of them. I could tell he was busy but he was still able to be cordial.

I’d promised to help Big B get his sailboat out of the water and stored for the Winter and on Saturday I showed up at the marina where he docked it. I quickly saw why he said he didn’t need any help. With the exception of my brother all of the ”unmarrieds“ were there. I knew one of them, an insurance agent who’s office was right down the street from the bank. Pete was a short, hyper guy who never seemed to stop moving. Martin was a recent college graduate, looking for a job. Steve, as it turned out, was a cousin to Jon (the milkman) and worked in the city but spent weekends locally. There was one other person there and that was Pete’s girlfriend, Babs. The reason I mention her was that she was very cute and someone I’d met more than a dozen years prior when I was still a teenager. I’m not sure if I wrote about her or not (it was too far back for me to take the time to look it up) but I had seen her a few times around town since buying the house. In any case there were enough people there to get the job done.

It took less than an hour to get the boat on the trailer and cleaned up. Since I’d told Elle I wouldn’t be home for lunch I joined the others at a small restaurant/bar that was their usual hangout. They were a raucous group and seemed to have a lot of laughs at each other’s expense. Before leaving I was asked if I wanted to go on the ”excursion“. I had no idea what it was and probably shouldn't have asked. It turned out to be an annual fishing trip where they used Pete’s father’s boat. They pitched it to me as a ”must attend“ affair and when I hemmed and hawed ”B“ said he'd talk to Elle about it for me and for the others to count me in. I wasn’t sure what was ahead for me.

”B’s“ parents property was quite deep and his father had decreed that the boat be stored in the very back so it couldn’t be seen from the street. The only time all of us were needed was to maneuver and push the boat back to where his father directed we put it. The property was bordered by a low chain link fence and right behind the boat was one of my favorite sights... a T pole wash line with some panties on it. I had to be very careful with my looking what with so many other people around, especially Babs. I don’t remember any thing special about what I saw but it surely was refreshing.

Elle and I had missed the September meeting of the ”group“, the name that had been grudgingly accepted for those of us who had campaigned for Jon (the milkman) to be elected to the school board. I’m not sure how we were selected to host the October party but we were. Elle wasn’t sure how many people were coming but did know that Pat and Phyl had invited Sandy and Johnnie. Even though they were the only ones without children. Pat felt that having a teacher in with the ”group“ would be good. Her ”cause“ was to replace the board members who’d been there for over 20 years and had no children in the school. Once that was accomplished it was to replace the principal who had been there longer than Elle and I had been alive. She’d come up with some statistics that showed our school district had a lower percentage of graduates going on to college than the two contiguous districts. The curriculum hadn’t changed in about eight years. Jon was her first ”victory”. With him on it for the next three years her next job was to get additional ”progressive“ thinkers with kids in attendance to help him out.

With help from my father we had an adequate supply of the ”hard stuff“ and I’d gotten some cheap wine for Pat and Nanci. Because the beer drinkers had their favorite brands they brought their own. Each couple would bring a bag of snacks so, in the end, we weren’t out much money which made it less of a burden. I showered as Elle delivered the kids to her mother’s house. I was dressed when she got back. My last duty was to make sure the den was picked up meaning the desk was cleared and everything in the room was in place while she was changing clothes. The birthday party for Anne had been the previous weekend and the Polaroid pictures from it were still on the desk as was the camera itself. I gathered them all up, camera too, and headed upstairs to ask Elle where she wanted to put them. She was pulling on a pair of panties when I walked in. The first thing she saw was the camera and she blurted out ”NOT NOW!“. If she hadn’t said anything I probably wouldn’t have even thought about taking a picture. But, with the thought now embedded in my brain all I had to do was drop the pictures on the bed and pull the camera bellows open... which I did. She wasn’t happy with me but just gave me a ”look“ and continued to get dressed.
                                             

Note the "Fancy Panties" 

   To be continued...