Echoes From the Loafers’ Club Meeting

The top of the morning to you.

And the rest of the day to you. Say, I was just thinking.

Well, congratulations.

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: A friend pulled his car alongside mine in the parking lot. It was good to see him. His car was an ancient station wagon with as many dents as miles. He rolled down the window and shut the vehicle off. The engine backfired several times before belching a smoke signal from its exhaust. A bit of rust fell from one fender with a rattling sigh. It was a magic moment. He looked over at me, smiled and said, “Just four more payments and it’s all mine.”

Cafe chronicles

I visited the Karma Cafe, where you get what you deserve. The waitress was the kind who never let anyone see the bottom of a coffee cup. I don’t want the world on a Saltine cracker, just good food. Unfortunately, the chef’s surprise was that he couldn’t cook.

There is always something good cooking in a church. A friend works with her husband as custodians at a local church. They are dutiful in the performance of their duties. At a recent soup and pie supper in the dining hall, a bit of food was spilled. It happens.

She sighed before saying with a laugh, “That’s it! There will be no more eating in the dining hall.”

Tis the shopping season

Traffic was heavy. Objects in the mirror didn’t want to stay behind me. It took me nearly seven songs on the car radio to get to town. Before leaving home, I’d told a caller that I was 16 miles away from our meeting place. He asked if it were 16 miles by foot or by car. I like the comfort of going to familiar places. I spend a lot of time driving in big cities on my way to somewhere that I’d never been before. Sometimes, while driving down the road with everyone else, I wish that gas were $100 a gallon. That would eliminate most of the traffic. Then I realize that would include me, so I take back the wish. I met with the fellow about some work-related things and then got on with the rest of my day. I had a lot to do before my shadow slipped away into the darkness. I had a marketing plan. It was a shopping list. I was soon wandering down a supermarket aisle, so completely lost in the shopping list that I walked by the shelves holding some of the products on the list. I found myself in the clothing area of a grocery store. I’ve heard men threaten to eat their hats. Maybe they eat hooded sweatshirts, too.

While visiting friends in Alaska, I wore a bear coat made in the 1920s. It made me feel as if I were in the back of beyond. It was warm and heavy. I felt as if I were carrying a bear. I wouldn’t have been able to get into a car while wearing that coat. Not a concern for the original wearer of the garment.

When I was a boy, a friend and good neighbor named Lonny Eastvold, spent extended years being short. When he began driving, he was barely visible through the steering wheel. My father said, “If you see a truck with nobody driving, that’s Lonney.”

If Lonney had worn a bear coat like the one I’d been wearing, he’d have looked lofty behind the wheel.

Nature notes

“What are the chances of having a white Christmas?” A white Christmas is defined as having 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, here are the chances of a white Christmas shown as a percentage for each city. Albert Lea 69, Austin 67, Brainerd 97, Bricelyn 71, Detroit Lakes 90, Duluth 97, Fairmont 76, Faribault 78, Lanesboro 73, Mora 92, New Ulm 64, North Mankato 68, Owatonna 71, Rochester 78, Twin Cities 71, Waseca 81, Wells 72 and Winona 78. The National Climatic Data Center found that in Iowa, Des Moines has a 45 percent chance, Mason City 57, Sioux City 63, Dubuque 62 and Cedar Rapids 39. Other Midwestern cities include Omaha 44, Green Bay 77, Milwaukee 60, Sioux Falls 67, Fargo 83, Detroit 50 and Chicago 40.

Meeting adjourned

Being kind can be something. It can be everything.