welcome to March

My girlfriend and I were making pad thai in preparations of the NCAA games and the first televised Mariners game of spring training. We chopped up vegetables, including some hot peppers, for the food, and then went into the TV room to watch the Duke/VCU game. Duke is leading, but VCU looks good and determined. I'm getting excited. Jaci is reading the paper. At one point, Jaci leaves the room. And in a few minutes, I hear her say, "Mary, can you come here?"

The hot pepper? Yeah, she had washed her hands after doing the chopping, but I guess it wasn't enough because her eye was puffing up--near as I could tell, most of the time she was running it under water. She wanted my help, but I wasn't sure what to do, so I googled "hot pepper in eye" and panicked. Some of the articles were saying things like "pain can last for hours" and "go to the ER if severe pain persists." Finally, I found a more viable option: aloe vera.

"Do you want me to go get some lotion from the store?" I ask Jaci. Her head is still in the sink. She nods.

I poke my head into the TV room. The game is tied. I race out to the car and turn on the radio. VCU is battling. When I get to the store there are two minutes left and a time out has been called. I get a parking spot close to the store and walk quickly inside and find several bottles that say "aloe vera" on them, although some describe themselves as lotions, others are labeled balms, and a few are gels. I pick two and go towards the check out lines and my heart sinks. The lines are long, the express line is the longest. I pick a line that looks fast, but one of the fellows has a long discussion with the clerk about whether he can get cash back from a check. I resign myself to missing the game.

But then! I get to the front of the line! I pay for the lotions! I scamper to the car and turn the radio on and VCU is leading with 16 seconds left! One of their players sinks a three throw and the announcer says in a shaky voice "the crowd on their feet--if you can believe it--cheering against Duke!" and I pump my fist and say "that's right!"and I drive home while listening to VCU upset Duke!

It's a good day to be a Duke hater.

When I got home, Jaci was ok, and the stuff I got her helped even further. She's feeling good, the good guys won the game, and now I'm watching baseball and Weaver may have given up a home run, but hey, it's baseball, I'm not real picky about what they do at this point.