Traumatizing Stories

Does anyone remember those blue books of stories found in doctor's offices? There is one story in particular that traumatized me as a child so I was doing a little searching on the internet to see if I could find it (morbid curiosity I guess). I did find that some others remembered it and were as traumatized as I and that it was from a series of books called Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories.

So the story goes (or how I remember it anyway), there is a boy in the hospital for a tonsillectomy and next to him is a boy who was in a horrible car accident and who knows he's going to die and is scared. The Tonsil boy befriends him and they decide that Car Accident boy should prop his arm up to show Jesus he's ready to go "home" (because apparently Jesus wanders hospital corridors at night looking for this universal sign).

Tonsil boy helps Car Accident boy prop his arm up with pillows and the next morning finds him "gone" with a beautiful smile on his face.

I read this in a waiting room when I was probably 8 or 9ish, because I remember reading it by myself and then being scared to death that I might accidentally sleep with my arm up and Jesus would take me away by mistake. That story haunted me for a long time (and made for a series of long nights in uncomfortable sleeping positions to prevent my arm from popping up unintentionally).

The other story that has traumatized me, but this time as an adult, was Love You Forever. The one where the woman cradles who newborn son and rocks him, and you see the years pass until the son is holding his frail old mom as she nears death. Hoo-boy! Now that's a great children's book (I realize it's a beautiful story and all, it's just WAY too sentimental and tear-jerking for my comfort level).

The first time I read it I was volunteering in the kindergarten class and reading books to a group of children. One of them plunked this gem in my lap and I unknowingly started reading. Well by the time I got near the end I was blubbering and trying desperately to get through it, but none of the kids seemed to notice, they just asked why I kept stopping. Lesson learned there. I've always steered clear of that book from then on.

So, has anyone else been traumatized by these stories? Were there any stories from childhood that really scared you?

Little Old Ladies Are Cheap!

At the casino this month we are running a buy one buffet, get one for a penny promotion. People are understandably excited to take advantage of this great deal, so we've been much busier than normal.

Yesterday I was cashiering when a group of 4 cute little old ladies approached with their check. We apply the discount at the register, so they were anxiously waiting to hear the total for their lunch. With senior discounts and pennies applied their total was $18.

They then wanted me to tell them how much that would be split four ways. I announced that it would be $4.50 each. Such a deal. Then they wanted to know if they could apply their comps from their player's cards to the total. Of course! No problem!

I had to run each lady's card through the system and apply their 48 cents or their $1.11 to the bill--finally bringing it down to $15.67. THEN they wanted me to figure out what that would be split 4 ways....um...I'm not a human calculator, nor did I have such a device handy, so I said it's about $4 each. Then they all gave me their money one by blessed one...first a $20 bill that I take $4 out of, then a $5, then a $10, then the last lady only owes $3.67, and I'm praying that none of the others catches on and throws an old lady hissy fit when they figure she is paying $.33 cents less than they did.

Honest to Pete, this was the longest transaction ever, and I wouldn't have minded so much if the little old ladies were a bit nicer about the whole thing, but they were quite indignant about spending their dang $4. I think it would've been easier for one to pay the bill and then for them to work it out amongst themselves...or arm wrestle for it...that would've been fun too.

Oh goodness, little old ladies can be funny...I guess my turn at being old and cheap is coming!

Piggerific

If you are interested in owning a guinea pig, please check out these sites FIRST and read up on their care http://www.cavyspirit.com/ and http://www.guinealynx.info/ .

More piggy goodness for your viewing pleasure...

I love their coloring. They're both a mixture of black and orange in their own way.

Shelby is calling this one Callie, because it's calico. Looks like it will have a little mohawk like Moe.

Here's a view of Callie that shows why Nat originally wanted to call this one Eye Patch.

Natalie and little Ice Cream. She must get her pet-naming talent from her father who had a dog named Ardy Choke.

Awww...

Oh...and another mutant alien trait about guinea pigs that I forgot to include yesterday...they never close their eyes. NEVER. It's so weird. They sleep with their eyes open and even seeing them blink is rare. They can close their eyelids if they want. They just don't. Aliens are among us...

The Cuteness Factor is Off the Charts

I was awoken this morning by little excited voices exclaiming, "They're so fluffy!" and "This one has a little mohawk!" and "Gidget had her babies!"

They are the cutest little things I think I've ever seen. Unlike most rodents, guinea pigs have babies that are fully furred, eyes open, and running around. They look just like miniature adults. And I've read that they will be eating solid food in a few days. Strange.

(Of course this further proves my theory that guinea pigs are some sort of mutant alien critter---my first point being that they have 4 toes on their front paws like normal critters, but only 3 on their back feet. 3? Then there are their strange alien vocalizations: pig squeals, twitters, whistles, squeaks and purring, yes, purring! And now the babies. Weird. They're aliens, I'm sure of it--right up there with the platypus!)

The babies are truly a mixture of Moe and Gidget. Very cool. I was a little disturbed when the girls started referring to the babies as "mine", as in, "Oh look at mine; he's so cute." Ruh-Roh, is all I can say! I'm not sure we have room for 4 pigs! (I was really hoping we would have 3, so that we could find a home for 2 and keep one. )

I can't quite tell yet whether we have boys or girls or one of each. The girls already are thinking up names. Nat thinks they should be named Ice Cream and Eye Patch. (I just love the way 6 year olds name things!)

--Piggy Update--
I went in to get some pictures of the little guys to post here and when I picked up Gidget I found that she had not quite delivered a third baby. It was obviously not alive, so I called the vet and Mike and the girls took her in to have the vet deliver it (because I had to leave for work). I was very saddened that our third little one didn't make it.

The vet told Mike that it was lucky this was the last one and not the first as it was quite big. She also said that she's fairly certain we have two girl babies. That's good news anyway! (And Gidget is fine.)

If you are interested in owning a guinea pig, please check out these sites FIRST and read up on their care http://www.cavyspirit.com/ and http://www.guinealynx.info/ .

Bulging

No baby guinea pigs yet...just one bulging mama pig.

I'm sure Moe is whispering to her in their piggy language, "No! You don't look fat, dear!"

Not sure when the babies will arrive. I read that about 2-3 weeks after you can feel the babies moving they will arrive, but it seems like we've been feeling them for at least a month now. Poor Gidget, I know how she feels!

As for Moe: his surgery went well thankyouverymuch. His days of being fertile are over!

If you are interested in owning a guinea pig, please check out these sites FIRST and read up on their care http://www.cavyspirit.com/ and http://www.guinealynx.info/ .

Moody is Feeling Moody

I had a melt down 2 nights ago after a particularly grilling night at the casino. They were having a big $100,000 drawing so the place was packed, add to that our restaurant's February promotion of buy one buffet, get one for a penny, and you have a recipe for frazzled employees and angry customers. Yeah, fun night.

I got my dinner break that night (just an hour into my 8 hour shift) but there were several girls who didn't. I felt really bad for them. We didn't get any breaks whatsoever even for the bathroom. Then they had only one cashier and she worked her fanny off, and ended up working 2 1/2 hours overtime. I was disgusted by the time I got home about how we all were treated. I know it was an especially crazy night, but they should've anticipated it a bit better and put a few more people on. Sheesh!

Then I have been scheduled 8 days straight (tonight's my last night, finally!) and I'm not too happy about that either. In the last week I've seen my family for about 4 hours each, last Saturday and Sunday, and saw the girls on Tuesday for about an hour and a half. I got to spend "quality time" with Sis on Wednesday going to an oral surgery consultation for her wisdom teeth, but other than that haven't seen my family at all. They're all gone in the morning after I wake up (I usually get in at 12:30-1am) and they're all asleep when I get home.

I just don't know if I can do this. I'm just not sure what my options are though. My greatest happiness in my life has been my kids and now I don't get to see them. To me, that's just not worth it. I will hopefully get to talk to a manager tonight about changing my shift, but if I can't get a day shift I will probably just tell them that I'll hang in there for February and then be on my way---but to what, I don't know...