Missive #582

110. Nasruddin and the Wool

Nasruddin owed his neighbor money. “But don’t worry,” Nasruddin said. “I’ve got a plan!”

His neighbor looked doubtful. “Do tell!” he said.

“I planted some bramble bushes outside; you probably saw them. And you know how the shepherds drive their flocks down the road on their way to the pasture…? The wool from those passing sheep will get caught on the brambles. I’m going to harvest that wool, sell it, and that’s how I will pay you back.”

Nasruddin’s neighbor burst out laughing. “I don’t think you’ll ever pay me back,” he said, “but at least you keep me entertained!

This Tale is from “Tiny Tales of Nasruddin” by Laura Gibbs. The book is licensed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. © 2019-202The2 Laura Gibbs

I went to Sierra Vista on Wednesday with my first stop being the gas station at Fry’s where I filled Desperado’s tank. That fill gave me the first mpg reading for what the rebuilt engine is doing and it gave me what the original engine was averaging back in 2013-2017 so I’m pleased with that. I was also pleased with how Desperado ran on the climbs over the pass through Bisbee. Much more like what the original engine did those many years ago.

After getting gas I went to Taco Giro for breakfast and in that same strip mall was Fix My Device where I went and inquired about getting the System 76 laptop keyboard replaced. I need to order the keyboard that I want him to install and he will then do it. I also asked about replacing a SmatWatch battery. He said he could do all the well known brand names but had never heard of Withings (a French company). It is a brand that I’m considering but will not buy if I can not find someone that can replace the battery. I’m also not very excited about it having an Apple OS. The other contender was Samsung which has known battery replacement services available and runs on Ware OS. The downside being it s a little more expensive and can only pair with a Samsung PHONE – a deal breaker. Back to the drawing board!

The next stop was at the VA Clinic where IO wanted to get my annual VA appointment moved up from April to March but the front desk clerk would not do that without my Dr’s approval. So I wait for a Secure Message that it has been approved (that happened yesterday) . Then went next door to the Audio department and was able to pick up my repaired hearing aids. That surprised me, I expected them to have screwed that up but got them back and they seem to be working. Probably for another 4-6 months and then I send them in again.

From there I went to the Coop and picked up my order of Kite Hill non-dairy yogurt and Bubbies naturally-fermented Sauerkraut. This order had been received but the grocery manager did not send me an email that it was available for pick up util I emailed him and asked when would I get the order. They have been good in the past so I’ll cut them some slack this time but sure hope it is not a sign of diminished customer service. 

Less than a block away is my bank were I went to get a couple rolls of quarters. I also wanted to know why I had been service charged on my checking account in August. Got that straightened out, got a refund and a statement date change to keep it from happening again.

A couple more blocks to my UPS Store where I got all the mail that had accumulated in my PMB these past 5 months. Nothing of much importance but I do need to have some kind of permanent address so will keep it.

The last stop on my way out of town was at Food City. I had never shopped there before but wanted to pick up a few things and see what they had to offer. What I found were some very wide aisles and everything that is on my usual shopping list. Plus I found some green corn tamales manufactured by Chata. They have some preservative in the ingredients and some other ‘stuff’ that I don’t consider harmful but not necessary. One of those is some vegetable oil that I may be able to forgive because they include lard in the ingredients; they could have left the veg oil out in my opinion.

I had to use the windshield wipers 3-4 times during the drive to and from Sierra Vista. Then during the night we got a rather spectacular lightning show in Sulphur Springs Valley. A few showers during the night but not enough rain to talk about.