BACK TO REALITY... Same ole, same ole (Part 165c)

BACK TO REALITY… Same ole, same ole (Part 165c)

The next morning I made a point of getting up early as I wanted to get to the church to clean up the stuff that I hadn’t brought home the night before. Elle wanted me to check to see if the traps I'd bought for the basement had caught anything. Since I'd not put any any bait in them I knew the answer. I made cursory trip down the stairs to appease her. She was not happy with my answer as I headed for the church.

I remember shaking my head at some of the stuff that had been left there. I really wondered what was in the minds of some of those people who thought they were helping. The landfill opened at 7am and I was there soon afterwards. On returning home I had time to reflect on the situation. The reason the lady had called me was the funeral for the woman who’d died in the car crash was the next day. All the bags, boxes and junk were not what would be expected by the mourners who would be attending. I’d written that her family attended our church. I knew the father but not that well. He, when attending, went to the 10am service and I, if possible, went to the 8am service. I’d only seen the mother a few times and had never formally met her. Elle was still in grade school when the deceased woman graduated so we had no intention of going to the service. However, I wanted to respect the family and getting rid of the junk and storing the rest was the best way for me (us) to do it.

A little late for work, it really didn’t matter. I’ve written that August had the least lobby traffic and September was close behind. It was perfect timing for the changes we’d made, (Joanie to receptionist and Trish to administrative assistant) giving them time to learn their new jobs. The slack time gave me an opportunity to make decisions as to how to advertise during the upcoming ‘busy period’. I hadn’t bought into the suggestion made by Morris to give up advertising anything specifically for the branch. Speaking of the branch, this was my second day back and I’d not heard a word about Jerry. I didn’t dare jinx it by bringing his name up. I was working on which media to use when Joanie rang me up on the phone to tell me Bert (the president) was on the phone. That was highly unusual. Normally I’d get a call from his secretary. But, in this case it really was Bert. I knew him well enough to know that he was all business when he said for me to report to the Board room. I chose to go up the back stairs which gave me a few seconds to reflect on what the reason was for the call.

Arriving at the top of the stairs and walking in to the vestibule I saw the door to the room was closed. The only time I’d ever seen it closed was when there was a meeting taking place. I hesitated before knocking and then heard the words “Come in…” Bert was at the head of the table and to his right was Gee, the Trustee/attorney and Hobie. Seeing Gee there made the situation a bit confusing. I was directed to take a set to Bert’s left. (OK… without giving you a lot of background as to how the banking association we belonged to worked… 128 like type banks belonged but it was controlled by the big city banks…  during the Summer many of the smaller banks had gotten together and threatened to split away if they didn’t get more of a voice in the running of the association… and it worked. As of September 3rd, a whole new administrative structure took effect and, for the first time smaller and mid sized banks were given a voice. That was why I was there.) Again, not wanting to bore you, they wanted me to serve on one of the standing committees… the Committee on Personnel Management (now called Human Resources). Actually, I didn’t have a choice. I was surprised, for sure. I had no idea who  was involved in making the decision but knew I had a somewhat contentious relationship with a few Board members (Polack Joe, for one). They could give me no information as to what was involved but closed our meeting by saying I was to go to the city on Thursday for the first meeting of the committee under the new structure. The three of them shook my hand and told me they expected that I’d do a good job in representing the bank. I had no idea as to what was ahead for me.

I was able to get to the County Agriculture Department before it closed and was told the furry critter I'd seen was more than likely a chipmunk. The best bait for them was plain, unsalted nuts. But, they also warned me that if there was one there were probably more. They said to find out where they were getting an entry because until it was sealed they would continue to plague us.

When we bought the house I found squirrels had gotten into the walls through a small opening over the casement windows in the basement. I sealed them all up but when I got home I checked them all again. When the house was built it was heated with coal and the one area that I'd not checked was where the coal was stored. There was no light in that area but with a flashlight I found that when the owner had converted to oil he'd put a wood panel in the coal shute opening to close it off. Shutting off the flashlight I could see daylight in one corner at the bottom. That was an easy fix so now it was on to the catching part. I loaded all the traps with walnut halves and, feeling confident headed for the stairs.

Since there was still a couple of piles of laundry still to be washed I spent most of the evening running up and down to the basement getting it done. Elle was very particular in what clothes did and didn't go into the dryer I also ended up putting up a temporary wash line down there. I'd just finished hanging the last of the first load when i heard a sharp SNAP. One of the traps had been tripped. That was a good sign. However, what weighed on my mind was what the agent at the Ag department had told me... if you've got one you know there are more. A quick search showed the trap I'd place in what had been the coal bin had one of the critters. Picking the trap up I have to admit I felt somewhat guilty. It was really cute. With the kids still up I had to hide it as I took it outside to the garbage pail. Elle wanted to know what I was doing so I held the trap up to show her. I thought I'd done a good deed but the look on her face was one of dismay. She was actually unhappy when she saw the little furry thing dangling from the trap.

It turned out that by the time I'd finished doing her wash that another trap had tripped. This time I decided to wait to get rid of the critter. I reset the first trap and headed for bed. I figured that if the traps didn't go off by morning that I'd got them all and could convince Elle of that fact... and maybe get some forgiveness for my "heartless deed". It didn't work out that way. In the morning when I found the traps untripped I told her her the basement was back to normal and she was 'safe' down there she was still upset that I'd killed the chipmunk(s) and told me that she thought that I could've gotten them out without having to kill. With a female it's hard to be a winner... 

To be continued...