Upbeat People
Here we all are posed for the photo while having tea – a handsome group indeed
Paul your Barista
Welcome to Willow’s weekly coffee and tea garden. My name is Paul and I’m happy to be here once again in the garden tending to your needs for a cuppa, and sweets. As you can see above, it was reader photo day and aren’t we a handsome group? I’ll be happy to bring a pot of whatever beverage you prefer – we have a wide range of teas and coffees to satisfy our world-wide readership. We can relax with a cuppa and calorie free sweets while we discuss the affairs of the week both personal and/or worldwide. How has your week been?
Sound asleep
I’ll start our chat today with a funny that happened in dialysis Friday night. I get a different nurse each time, depending on their schedule. Friday night I had Marcie – a very funny, cheerful nurse of about my age who enjoys verbal jousting and is not above flirting (she’s single). We had a few good laughs as she was hooking me up to the dialysis machine. I had taken a prescription drug before entering dialysis that was designed to stop random leg muscle movements (called restless legs or crazy legs) which are sometimes a side effect of dialysis. This had been troubling me for a while and I had just gotten the prescription right. So, as soon as Marcie had me hooked up, I fell asleep -apparently a side effect of the drug for the side effect of dialysis. I slept very soundly, even through the unhooking at the end, the holding of the needle punctures to stop bleeding and the bandaging of the site. Normally, I would do the holding and help with other parts of the unhooking – but tonight I was dead to the world. Finally it was time to leave and Marcie had to shake me awake. My first response upon waking was to comment on the restless legs medication: “Wow that was awesome.” Of course Marcie did not know why I had slept through, had left the unhooking all to her, and she responded in a flat emotionless tone: “I’m glad it was good for you.” One of the passing nurses and another patient overheard us and burst into laughter. “You two sound like an old married couple.” It took me a minute to figure out what was going on and when I did I blushed and explained my comment and the new medication. We all shared a great laugh. Do you find that cheerful people keep your spirits up and make life so much more pleasant? Do you have any stories about situations where an individual made a positive difference because of their attitude?
Para Transpo Bus with Driver
Would you like another cuppa and a sweet? It’s a bit cool today, so the hot drink is feeling mighty warming.
I was on my way back home Friday and had a chat with the bus driver. I have a walking handicap from the dialysis treatment and so I qualify for handicapped transport – called Para Transpo here in Ottawa. It is an excellent service (in general) and with an appointment they pick me up at my door, drop me at the hospital
and then return me home afterwards. My driver tonight was a regular – an upbeat gentleman in his 50’s who always has a smile ready. I was early as dialysis had gone very well (no interruptions) and he was early as well – so we started out 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I asked him if he was done for the evening and he replied that he had one more pick-up after he dropped me off. I suggested his next customer would be happy to see him early, and he laughed and said he doubted that. He continued that his last pick up for the night was a young handicapped man who was returning from a local bar to his home. Apparently this was a regular Friday night pick-up and my driver felt somewhat awkward entering the bar to find the young man. He described the bar as an establishment for young people and said that every time he darkened the door everyone turned to check him out. He said the feeling was one of nervousness, as if they were all waiting for him to demand which of the bastards had gotten his daughter drunk the night before.
A Busy Pub Full of Young People – Hooley’s Pub, Ottawa
I found this amusing and wondered out loud at how our perceptions of our surroundings change as we age. Thirty years earlier, he or I could have walked into such a pub and no one would have even noticed us. He laughed and said that Para had a number of elderly ladies in their 70’s to 90’s that used the service to get back and forth to their local bar at the Legion Hall (The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit veterans’ organization started in the 1920’s – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Legion). They would go in the afternoon and return home tipsy and happy that evening. My driver seemed to be implying that partying does not have to be confined to the youngsters. There is a place for all of us, no matter the age. Do you have any thoughts on that? Have you found that where you fit has changed as you grew older? Have your likes and dislikes around socializing changed over the years?
Royal Canadian Legion
Would you like another cuppa? I think I’ll have a sweet as well. Willow and I are honored that you dropped by the marquee in the garden today to visit. I hope you’ve
enjoyed yourself and the conversation and please feel free to look around at Willow’s other posts while you’re here. Have a great week. We look forward to seeing you here in the garden again next week.
For the Fall Chills we have Irish Coffee to warm the cockles of the heart.
IF WE WERE HAVING COFFEE: I would ask you if you would like another cuppa, or another cake . ! If we were having Coffee Original idea from http://parttimemonster.wordpress.com/
Photo credits:
http://www.gardenconnections.co.uk/english-tea-and-roses-homestay_c141.aspx
http://www.picgifs.com/clip-art/sleeping/clip-art-sleeping-630119-687352/
http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/06/19/no-quick-win-for-para-transpo-bookings-commission-finds-out
http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Senator+fans+cheered+Alfredsson+scored+second+period+Hooley+Elgin+Street+Ottawa+Sens+mile+Thu
rsday+April+2012/6529469/story.html
http://tamworth.ca/?page_id=157
http://www.cookiesorbiscuits.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Irish-Whiskey-2.jpg
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