OH HOPIE JO

So this story about our sweet Hopie Jo and was shared with me this afternoon by my bff Monique. I confirmed it with Hope and it is indeed true.

Rachel (Monique's daughter) & Hope are dating best friends Jose' and Luis respectively. Hope was teasing Luis because he apparently didn't know what an "apprentice" was (Monique was listening in on the conversations because, well, they were at her house and we moms always have our ears turned on and tuned in . . . you know we do). Hope will just not let up and relentlessly keeps hammering Luis about his stupidity at not knowing the definition of this particular word.

Monique (her timing is impeccable) then asks Hope an all important question. "Do you know what an apprentice is"? Hope's confident reply. "It is a the guy who comes to your house to give you an idea of how much it is worth".

Yep. For sure, no question, she's a Roderick.

STUCK IN A SEATBELT

My friend Phyllis gave Shae a coffee table to take with her up to school for her new apartment. A lovely marble table with solid iron legs. We tucked that puppy into the back seat of the car for transport. Lashed down by seat belts and pulled snug, we didn't want it flying into our heads should we stop fast, we were ready to roll.

We pulled into Eugene without incident and started unpacking. Shae and I got all the small stuff out and waited for Cephus, Shae's boyfriend, to come help us with the table. It is heavy as you can imagine and my back is not as strong as it used to be. Old.

As soon as Ceph arrived, he and Shae got to work. I stayed in the apartment to tidy up and put oodles of things away.

It was taking them a long time to get the table out I thought. I went out to the car and viewed an angry Shae (not a pretty sight). The table was half way out of the car and there was no more give in the safety belt. Zero. The table was stuck. Half in and half out with no way to move it at all. Nada.

I hate to admit it, but I was trying not to laugh at the situation the kids were in . . . Ceph trying to calm Shae down and she having none of it. So funny to me and not so funny to them.

Suffice it to say that Mom saved the day, so to speak, by calling the Nissan dealership in town and relaying our predicament to the kind man on the line (I think he was laughing too). He shared that we must cut the belt. No way to pull it out any further due to safety issues. So Ceph did the deed and told me to hold the belt while he and Shae took the table inside.

Yeah. I stood there for a minute and then I improvised. I tied a know in the belt and walked back to the apartment. Ceph's face was priceless. He thought I let the belt slide back into the seat. Now that I think about it. So what if it slid back. It was already cut and needed a new belt anyway. Hmm.

So off to the dealership we went, and that little ditty set us back about $120.00. Still cheaper than having it shipped up to Eugene.

Add it up to another Roderick taking-the-kid-back-to-college experience. This just happened to be one of the cheaper ones.

A BROCCOLI TALE

You know me. I always try to eat my green veggies. Broccoli is not my favorite, but it is green and I do make an effort to digest a few florets once in a while. Shae, on the other hand, eats a lot of green stuff which is why this story is, or perhaps isn't, so shocking.

We were on the road to Eugene to return that little blond to college and were enjoying lunch together at a quaint little restaurant. Shae, being herself, ordered everything healthy. I, on the other hand, did not and Shae offered to share her plate with me. I reluctantly accepted and grabbed some broccoli from her serving.

As I ate I told Shae that it bothered me that the establishment served mostly the stalks and very little of the florets. "Mom", she said, "I ate the tops off the broccoli." Eww.

I kept on eating. I need all the nutrients I can get. I am a Roderick.

SHAE SHOPPING

Shae and I went shopping today and South Coast Plaza for several needed back to college clothes. I know. You ask what could she possibly need? Well one word . . . Roderick.

I finished while she ran to visit some friends who work over there. I completed my task and texted her that I would meet her at the car.

While standing in the parking structure awaiting her arrival a tall, bald African American man walked by me. I thought to myself that I should probably ask him for his autograph because in my mind he was obviously a big time basketball player. Maybe even for the Lakers. He just had the look.

I live in Orange County. I am shopping at South Coast Plaza. I am alone in a parking structure and this is where my feeble mind went. I continued to contemplate my thoughts. Am I a positive racist and do those two words combined even make sense? And do I assume this of anyone above 6 feet tall? It didn't even cross my mind that he could have been someone who might accost me.

Kelsey and I have had several conversations about institutionalized racism and I am having a difficult time separating this all out. Am I an institutionalized racist? A little help maybe is needed.

Oh how the Roderick mind works.

US OPEN OF SURFING

What a marvelous morning I had today. I walked with my bff's and while they continued onto the pier (I stopped early because sometimes my hip and knee ache) I had an iced coffee at Starbucks.

I sat down outside and just people watched. Nothing is more fun than to view people enjoying the US Open . . . nothing. It was crazy busy, fascinating and frightening, interesting and intriguing and just plain exciting. All sorts of people, all sorts of nationalities, all sorts of sizes and all sorts of ages. Some loud, some quiet, some with dogs, some with babies, some on bikes, some on skateboards, some with shoes, some without, some in scandalous swim suits, some covered modestly. I saw it all and loved every minute.

Now . . . when is this all over so we can get back to normal. Roderick normal, whatever that is.