Back home, with mom and dad, with Leigh, with Gary.

So good. Just about fall, too. Just about.

- - - -

Had lunch at China Fair today with Leigh and took a quick look back into the kitchen, and the all the dishes stacked up in the dishpit. I shuddered. I washed dishes there at one time, right out of high school.

I walked out of the joint too, not an hour into my first shift after taking a winter off to work at a little ski resort running the tow ropes and chairlifts. The owner, Bosco-man, gave me my old job back, and I remember showing up to work and setting up, and how wrong it suddenly felt to be standing there in that pit. I found Bosco on the line and said, “Bosco, How much is my hourly wage this time?” He mumbled something quick about, “What did I pay when you work here last time?” I think it was five bucks an hour at the time, or something. Maybe $5.25? I remember telling him I needed more money. He stared me down a couple seconds and waved a hand and said, “We pay you $5.75 this time.” And that sounded good. But, honestly, it didn’t matter how much he offered. It just wasn’t gonna work out.

I politely declined, said it wasn’t gonna cut it, declined the job and split.

And that was that.

And, I remember driving away and feeling liberated, and, a tad guilty for up and leaving like I did. I just couldn’t hack it again.

This is what flashed in front of my face this afternoon when I looked back into that kitchen, in an instant.

- - - -

Went and took a couple test drive today, too. This, this and this.

Big S has been good to me for so long. It might be time to step up to a new rig for the next bunch of years. And this time, just this once, I am going to buy a brand spanking new rig. Just this once. Completely goes against the whole, “drive it off the lot and you lose this and that instantly” school of thought for car shopping.

But, just this once, I want to step to a new rig.