My Wild Foxy Night Visitor

My after work errands ran long tonight, so I arrived home just before dusk.  This close to summer time, that translates to just after 9pm.

I pulled forward, then began to back into my drive as is my habit.  Trust me, you don't want to see me trying to hurriedly bug out at o'darkthirty in the morning. Especially not when my head is longing to return to visiting my pillow rather than clearly focusing on the rules of the  road.

Out of the corner of my eye I thought I glimpsed the uniquely slinking gait of a fox scurrying across my street. He was coming from the West, heading East. 

Of course I had to investigate.  

I pulled into the neighbors drive.  Yes, I could have walked, but I already had my 10K steps in (10,243 to be exact😏), so I decided to drive all of two houses down. When your mobility issues make you an easy target, you learn quickly to watch out for predators of all shapes and sizes.  That's my rationalization, and I'm sticking to it. 

Besides, the real reason is  my feet and back were aching. 

The fox was long gone--or at least hidden away in a great hidey-hole, so I returned home. Backing into my drive the second time, in the span of about a minute, I realized I was wrong about the fox.  

Because a second young grey fox romped across my street, West to East as well, and headed for the neighboring cemetery. 

I say it was a second fox; however,  there is always the possibility it was the same fox--who was circling around the cul de sac and cemetery fence, as if playing Follow The Leader with itself. But as quickly as it occured, that scenario is highly unlikely. Even though foxs are known to be nimble and quick. So I'm going with second fox. 

I've seen the neighborhood grey fox before. However, it was on the far side of the vacant field between my fenced backyard and a couple Main Street businesses.  I've also spied  an older fox downtown by the fire station and Nolan Creek. Both of the previous fox sightings were in the wee hours. 

I've never seen fox this close to my house--or this early in the night. 

While I feel perfectly safe from a fox family envasion I was glad Moggy met me, as I exited my SUV, without having to be called to go inside the house.

And I was especially  glad that he came to me from a Southern direction. 

Although Moggy is a senior cat (how can the time have flown by so quickly?!), and does not share my mobility issues, I didn't want to test his agility against a wild animal. 

Even a wild animal who appeared to be playfully entertaining himself. 

Wild is wild. 

Repaired Crowns, Parking Lot Prayers, and Wrong Number Llyod

I think my year-long relationship with Lloyd may have come to an abrupt halt today. I'll miss him.  

And Randy. 

And Gilly.  

And Brenda.  

Even though I never met them. 

But before I explain, I'll tell you about today...

I left work early for a dental appointment to replace the temporary crown placed last Wednesday. We had packed way too many fixes in the appointment and my dentist, who is normally very good, could not get my  lower right jaw numb to replace a lost filling. Actually, I think I was numb enough at one point, but the numbness wore off with the feeling of a sheet fluttering down my cheek.  

It was numb. 

The sheet fell. 

And I was no longer numb. 

It was the quickest un-numbing in the history of dentistry. 

So he administered additional anesthetics saying, "This always does the job."

Declarative statements like that are like the line being drawn in the sand. My body was having none of it. My dentist blew air on the tooth that should have been numb,  and I went through the roof. 

We mutually decided the refill could wait until the permanent crown was ready. 

I went home took pain meds and put myself to bed early. 

Thursday evening I was at a friends house and I felt something hard and crunchy in my mouth. I was eatting a noncruchy burger.  I pulled out what looked like half a molar. My tongue explored the inside of my mouth  and it felt like the outer half of one of my upper left molars  had sheared away.  

The following day, Goof Friday, I called my dentist. Fridays are normal half-days for their office, so I knew there was a  strong possibility they would be closed. In my answering machine message I said, "I'm not in pain, and it's not an emergency; however, I want to head anything off at the pass since we are going into essentially a holiday weekend." 

Sure enough, the Dentist also determined it was not an emergency and  we decided they would schedule me Monday when they returned to the office.

In the meantime, Saturday, while eatting a grilled cheese sandwhich, I felt another hard substance in my mouth. I spit out the second half of my tooth. My tongue explored some more and I realized it was just the temporary crown that broke in two--not one of my actual teeth. That both relieved me, and explained why I wasn't in more pain. Actually, the sharp cuts on my tongue were the only"pain."

Fast forward to this fine Monday afternoon. After being refitted for the second temporary crown,   I went to Sam's for DDPs and snacks. While loading my SUV a total stranger approached and asked, "Do you know me?" 

I said, "No. But you look a little familiar."  So he told me where we may have met. It was plausible. Then he introduced himself, and I knew we had never met. I would have remembered his name. 

Then, he asked me to pray for him. I readily agreed and he told me his specific request. So there in the Sam's parking lot, we held hands and I prayed for him. 

Fast forward to the present. As I checked my messages I saw my second call today from Wrong Number Lloyd. I smile fondly even as I type that. You see, I became aware of Lloyd through a wrong number about a year ago. I've looked forward to his calls ever since. 

He originally called to see if Brenda was going to play cards that evening. 

Then he called Randy to see if he had heard about Brenda's plans. 

Every few days he called about a quilting class. Or cards. Or dancing. Or dinner.  

I was living vicariously through Lloyd, Randy, and Brenda. Then today, Gilly called about cards, (after Lloyd called about a quilting class). Always from Lloyd's phone.  

As I was updating my notes in  Lloyd's contact information, Lloyd called again. I felt bad, and by this point I was pretty confident he was not a scammer. 

So I answered.

And the conversation went like this:

Me: "Hello."

Lloyd: "Hey girl."

Me: "I'm not who you think I am."

Lloyd: "You're not Brenda?"

Me: "No. I felt bad in case Brenda is getting into trouble for never calling you and Gilly back, but please don't be mad at her. In her defense, she hasn't  been getting your messages."

Lloyd: "She has said that a time or two." 

Me: "She's telling the truth. I think you Lloyd, Randy, and Gilly, and Brenda too, are all my kind of people--you like to do a lot of the same things I like, and you sound like a lot of fun...but I'm not Brenda. I've been receiving her messages for some time now."

Llyod: "I'm so sorry. I've been calling a number on my phone." 

Me: "Yes. Mine.  Not Brenda's--but don't feel bad, Randy and Gilly have called me too. From your phone." 

We laughed. Said our goodbyes. And hung up. 

I'm kind of sad. I hope Lloyd, Gilly, Randy, and  Brenda call from time to time to update me on the newest class they are taking.  

And the winner of the card games. 

I'm secretly pulling for Brenda. ♠️♥️♦️♣️😉