Kidnapped

"When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room." - Woody Allen

Friday was a day of unexpected events. I drove Merv to the airport in the morning to catch his flight for Florida where he is spending a week golfing with friends. It occurred to me on Thursday to ask Jacob if I could take him out for a late breakfast, carrying on to Guelph after dropping Merv off. Jacob was game. About half way between Toronto and Guelph, the flat tire indicator light came on in my car. I wasn't sure what to do. I have run flat tires so I can continue to drive on a flat but only at a speed of 80kph or less, hardly ideal for a trip on the 401. Nonetheless, I decided to carry on to Guelph so I reduced my speed and put my flashers on though I managed to annoy a number of truckers on the highway. When I got off the highway at Aberfoyle, I called Jacob and left a message asking him to locate the nearest BMW service centre so I could have my car attended to before getting back on the 401 to make the trip home. When I picked Jacob up, he hadn't picked up the message but told me not to worry - he would show me how to locate the nearest service centre from inside the car. First he checked the tires and couldn't find any evidence of a flat. Convinced that it wasn't a tire problem but a computer problem, he reset the computer in my car (which he says should have been done when I had my flat tire changed a couple of weeks ago), showed me how to locate a BMW service centre through my GPS system and did a tire analysis through the car's computer. No flat. I was relieved.

After a lovely early lunch, I drove back to Toronto to settle in for a weekend of spring cleaning. I spoke to Cathy at about four o'clock and promised to take in her newspaper while she and Stan were at the lake hosting our friends Brian and Geraldine for the weekend. Shortly before six o'clock, Cath called again and asked if I wanted to join them for the weekend. I declined with thanks. Five minutes later I was summoned to the door by a loud knock. Brian walked in with Dora and told me to pack. They weren't taking "no" for an answer. Less than ten minutes later I was on my way to Havelock for the weekend.

The weather was truly terrible all weekend. We lost power at the lake in the early afternoon and didn't regain it until after midnight. At the lake that means being not just without light and heat but also being without water. The pump that brings water into the house from the lake, is electric. No water. No working toilets. For about eight hours we played cards. When the daylight ebbed we played by flashlight and candle light. By ten thirty I was freezing. It was too dark to read, even by candlelight so I went to bed. In spite of the bad weather and power outage, it was still a fun weekend. Closet cleaning has been reschedule for this afternoon.