Oh, what wonderfully health-conscious people we are, I gloated. All vegetables that are very very good for you! Well, the main reason we had an all-veggie meal was because I had to do an 11-mile training walk this morning, and the red beans and rice were supposed to give me energy. Which they did. However, about 4 1/2 miles in, the corn and okra section of the meal kicked in. Does everyone know what okra is? I didn’t before I moved to the South, so I’ll assume not everyone does. Okra is a pod-type vegetable that gets slimy when boiled, but is pretty yummy, at least to me. And the pods are filled with little green seed-type, uh, seeds. To put it bluntly, okra helps out if you’re constipated. You always know you’re going to have a nice, clean system the next day if you’ve eaten you a big ol’ helpin’ of okra. Anyway, I was walking along somewhere around mile 4.5, happily listening to my book on tape, when suddenly my digestive system tossed everything down the pipe. And me at least a mile and a half from any bathrooms. I suppose I could have found a tree to go behind, but you know what? I could imagine peeing behind a tree if it was that or die, but I can’t EVEN think about thinking about anything else. I guess I’m just picky that way. Luckily, being the prepared walker, I took my cellphone out of my fanny pack and made a distress call to my wonderful husband, who immediately left work to pick me up and drive me home. See what happens when you’re all braggy and proud of yourself for eating an all-veggy meal? Your digestive system rebels, and you end up telling a million (estimated) people that you had to cut short your training walk for embarrassing reasons. I’ve learned my lesson. I shall brag no further. I walked 4.5 miles today. What’d YOU do? I hit the post office today to check my mail, and found twenty-cent stamps from the wonderful Michele in Texas, who contributed said stamps so that I could send out even MORE postcards. Is she a sweetie, or what? A crazy axe-sharpening, cat-loving and bookworming sweetie. Also in the mail was something I NEEDED without knowing that I needed them – hanteens! Dr. Suzanne from Iowa (whom I did not realize was a doctor), has run many a marathon, half-marathon, and mini-triathlon and knows what she’s talking about. Isn’t she awesome? I can’t wait to try ’em out! What have YOU sent me lately? 🙂 Just kidding! Mostly. The new Janet Evanovich – Seven Up – came out today. Whilst the spud and I were out running errands, I decided to swing by the nearest bookstore to pick it up. I haven’t actually been in a bookstore since, I think, last summer when I was in Maine. Funny story – I went in a bookstore (Waldenbooks, maybe?) in the Maine Mall to buy the newest Harry Potter book for my nephew’s birthday, and of course the guy tries to sell me a frequent shopper discount card or something. “Blah blah blah shop at Waldenbooks?” he said. “Oh, I’m from Alabama,” I said, which is my usual response when someone tries to sell me something in Maine. (On a side note – is it possible to go in a store and just fucking BUY something anymore without them trying to sell you something else? God, I hate that.) “Oh,” he said with much interest. “Do you have a Waldenbooks near you?” “I don’t know,” I said not thinking clearly. “I buy all my books online.” Boy, if looks could kill… So anyway, I walked into Books-A-Million to look for the book, located it, and glanced at the price. And had a heart attack and died. Fucking TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS??? Who the hell pays TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS for a book these days? Why isn’t Books-A-Million out of business, for the love of god?? So we went to Sam’s and got it for $14.78 plus tax. Well worth the 20-minute drive. Lordy, I can’t believe I’m leaving for Maine in three days. Actually, in three days, I’ll BE in Maine. Oh, the lobsters have no idea what’s coming…]]>
06/19/2001