LIFE GOES ON... and on... (Part 171c)

LIFE GOES ON… and on… (Part 171c)

The meeting on usury limits was scheduled for 10:30am which was perfect for me as it meant I could take the bus/train to the city and back home on the same day. As strictly an observer there was no pressure on me to be prepared. Other than the thought of being intimidated by the majority of the other attendees I went to bed looking forward to it. The hardest part was in getting up at 5am to be at the bus stop on time. The number of riders seemed to be about the same during the winter but once the good weather arrived, it would pick up considerably… especially on Mondays. Even though I seldom rode the bus/train anymore I recognized some of the ‘regulars’ and on this day ended up sitting next to one of them. He was also a banker and, to make conversation, asked if he knew Ginger’s father-in-law. His response caught me off guard when he came right back at me with “How do you know him?”. I was just making ‘small talk’ and found myself being ‘grilled’. It turned out the two of them had worked together and he’d been let go. It became quite obvious he was still bitter about it. It sure made the hour to the train very ‘interesting’ and reminded me of just how small the world could be.

I was fine until I walked into the association offices. I didn’t recognize any of those who were already assembled and my inferiority complex kicked in, big time. I don’t know why but the president of the association walked up to me and proceeded to introduce me to a couple of the men and they didn’t growl or bite. One of them was with the biggest bank and he made a comment that finally made me relax a bit… “We’re all in this together…” meaning the big and small banks. If there was one big thing that I took away from the meeting was in recognizing the importance of the association. The the meeting opened with the association president giving an overview of the current interest rate situation and the position it had put the member banks in. That was followed by a packet of papers being distributed to all those present and what they represented. In the interest of time, we were told to wait until after the meeting was over to take a close look at them. Next up was the lobbyist who represented the association. He proceeded to explain his role in meeting with both bodies of the state legislature… and how hard it was in dealing with them on this particular subject. He told us of his frustration in getting the individual members of each house to understand how the financial markets work. In my opinion, he wasted a lot of time as he was preaching to the ‘choir’. The association chairman then took over and got to the ‘meat’ of the meeting. We were all charged with returning to our respective banks and “educating” our Trustees using the materials that had been provided and to encourage them to contact and, if possible, schedule one on one meetings with the State Representative and Senator for our locality to get the message across. And… that message was for them to call for hearings about interest rate ceilings and the need to increase them. Failure to do that would mean no money available for home mortgages and that would negatively affect the State’s economy. With that the meeting was over. It was only 12:30pm. I was in awe. It was unlike any meeting I’d ever attended. There was no discussion, at least during the formal part of the meeting, which kept it on topic and efficient. There was plenty of discussion afterwards but because I knew no one I was left to just observe and to listen. For those wishing for a bite to eat there was a lite luncheon available. Never one to turn down free food I was one of the few who chose to eat. There were three types of sandwiches and I chose the roast beef. Wow! There was almost an inch of meat. By the time I left I was full.

I had plenty of time before the train so stopped at Macy’s to peruse the lingerie department. It had been a long time since I’d had that opportunity. My only problem was I hadn’t thought about going there the day before so was limited to the cash I had in my wallet which wasn’t much. The train depot was only minutes from the store so I calculated just how much time I had for my browsing. Walking into the department all I could do was look around in total awe. Every type of undergarment imaginable was there and pretty much on display. I’d long been over being embarrassed in a lingerie department so I strolled up and down the display cases and tables taking it all in. One of the things that caught my eye were some of the new labels being showcased. One was a brand called Henson Kickernick. In seeing it I had to smile. Naturally, I wanted to see what the panties looked like but all I could find was peignoirs. I asked a saleslady about slips and panties and she couldn’t help me. I even asked if she could ask another salesperson. As she walked away I glanced at my watch. I still had about twenty minutes and started getting anxious when no one appeared. I gave up with fifteen minutes to go and as I walked away I heard a voice call out to me. I turned and looked to see a tall, well dressed woman heading towards me. I hesitated and waited for her to catch up with me. She apologized saying that the Henson Kickernick products were new and many of the individual items had not been put out for display. She suggested that I stop back in about a week. Another glance at my watch told me I had but ten minutes to exit the store and get down to the lower level and the gate for my train. I know it appeared to be impolite but I just bolted for the escalators. I made the train by about a minute.

Being the last on board I knew I had to stand until the train reached the station where I had to change trains. There was one young woman who caught my eye. Actually, it was the shortness of her skirt that got my attention. She was seated and from where I was initially standing I couldn’t see anything but a lot of thigh. There were two stops before I had to change and, with each, people had gotten off and I managed to move to a better viewing position. I know if I’d had a seat across from her I would’ve gotten at least a little peek but from my standing position I couldn’t see anything but a lot of high thigh flesh. When we reached the station where I had to change trains I hesitated in leaving hoping she’d make a move with her legs that might’ve given me a chance but she was very ‘ladylike’, making sure she didn’t give anything away. Now, at this station there were five platforms and ten tracks. We’d pulled in on track eight and I needed to get to track ten. The last time I’d taken the train from the city it pulled in on track nine which meant all I had to do was disembark and walk across the platform and onto the train I needed. The only way I could get there was to go down the stairs to ground level and then walk over to the stairs for the platform I needed. In the crush of people disembarking I lost track of the woman I’d been eyeing. I was cursing about having to use the stairs and was actually halfway up the ones to my desired platform when I looked up and got more than I could’ve hoped for. There she was, actually running up the steps with the back hem of her skirt bouncing nicely up and down. There was no mistaking the color of her panties… bright red.

To be continued…