During my recent bike ride each day was a struggle trying to balance riding in the heat, stopping before it got too hot, and finding a campground or hotel anywhere in the area where i wanted to stop.
But, once i made the decision to throw in the towel, everything seemed to fall into place. The sidewall of my rear tire is blowing out so i worried about the last 30 mile ride to the airport where i would pick up the rental car i would use to get home. While trying to figure out what to do i walked down to a restaurant near the hotel i was staying at. Out of the blue, the man at the table next to me offered to drive me all the way to the airport. Didn't know him (obviously), had never met him before, and hadn't told him that i was looking for a ride.
Earlier in the day, when i had called Avis to reserve a car, the woman told me that the price for the rental car would be about $200, with tax and unlimited miles. Compared to flying with a bike that is a great deal, especially since i had no box to pack the bike in and no desire to dismantle the bike. When my new friend dropped me off at the airport, i was told the price was $107. I reminded her that she had told me $200, to which she simply smiled and said "i found you a better price."
Once i quit fighting the trip and accepted the outcome i was apparently supposed to have, everything simply fell into place with no effort required on my part.
Today, on the way home from the bookstore with one of my sisters, i asked if we could stop at a garden nursery that i haven't been to in 10 years. They are one of the most expensive nurseries in town so i never go there, but i'm trying to find a small squirrel for my garden to replace the one that jumped in front of my lawn mower earlier this year to avoid another boring summer of just sitting around all day in the heat.
As we were walking around we saw this magnificently beautiful Japanese pagoda for sale for $150. I obviously don't have $100 so i told the owner that i hoped he couldn't sell it so that i might have the chance to come back in the fall by which time i could save enough money.
The owner decided i needed it and told me that if i gave him $110 i could take it home. That is still too high, but given that it was worth every penny of the $150, then $110 was a very good bargain. I tried one more time to prevent the purchase by telling him that i still couldn't do it, but if he would come down to $100 i'd take it. I wasn't bargaining, just admitting that i didn't have that much money. To my utter surprise, he said OK, on the condition i give him cash and buy it right then.
Well, everyone that knows me knows i seldom even have $20 in my pocket — usually less than $10 — and that's when my sister piped in that she probably had $100 on her. She wasn't sure why, but when she went to the bank this morning she decided to take out more than she usually does in case she needed it and arbitrarily chose $100 as the amount she might need.
I borrowed the cash and we walked out with a four foot tall Japanese pagoda that now sits in my front yard near the torii.
And for what it's worth, here is my house last fall:
And here it is again after painting it this spring. Decided to get rid of the beige colors and go with tans and greens.
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