BalloonPrincess

Coffee With The Princess!

Instruments of Destruction!

**Giggles!**

I'm still an uber-nerd at heart after all these years, y'all, something that delighted and makes my family, friends, co-workers, and bosses all laugh about, but I unashamedly keep on being me since it is so much fun! This morning, a friend of mine humored me when I picked her up from the mechanic we use for the Firm's fleet of vehicles. We drove around Oglethorpe Mall to get a better look at the barricades they have put up around the old SEARS main building and the Automotive Center. SEARS had been there at the Oglethorpe Mall since the establishment back in the late 1960s, April 1969 to be exact. I remember a mural being up at the mall with the iconic television stars back from those days, which included Star Trek's own Mr. Spock and I want to say the Enterprise too, but I could be wrong. SEARS officially closed their section of the mall down in 2018, a few years after Pop passed, which was very telling in my life. I had been watching the slow decline of the store since I started working for the Firm in 2001, but it really became noticeable to me when they closed down their service center for the warranty and maintenance agreement programs they offered to their customers. Pop had a HUGE umbrella agreement with SEARS back in the 1980s where they took care of everything. Heck, I remember back in the spring of 1988 where the guy came to our house and spent several hours working on various items including cleaning up my VCR and even taking my ten-speed bike to the repair center to be worked on, and like Steve Austin, they rebuilt the bike, making it bigger and better than ever before! I had it for a decade of use and riding afterward until it was stolen by morons at the trailer park in the late 1990s.

Around the late 1970s, Pop started working for SEARS in Brunswick at the Lanier Plaza store, which was an epic place to shop at. Mom and Pop save so much money by shopping there for my Big Sister, her family, and myself over the years. I got all sorts of toys and games thanks to Pop and his work, including the various Atari and Intellivision games and systems, several board games, and even got my niece one of those insane Cabbage-patch Kids dolls back when they were popular, Pop having snuck one out to the car after buying it before the store opened. She was thrilled! Especially since those damned things were so hard to get! He bought an Atari game for those nights where his friends would come over for drinks and they would sit and play these games. I ended up getting the game system since Pop got fed up with it, but later would get Mom Pac-Man for a Mother's Day joke gift, which was hilarious, but Mom loved it. Later, I would get an Intellivision system, highly used, but still workable thanks to the maintenance agreement we had with it. That was funny because when it finally gave up the ghost, I got a brand new one as a replacement, as I did with the original Atari game system. Pop would always talk about the money we saved with his hard work there. Now, I was dubious as years went on about their automotive center, especially when it took them three hours to change the oil on my car. Now, that was some adventure, especially watching Pop go over there and rampage about how long it was taking. I kept on trying to tell Pop that I could go and shop, but he was just ticked off since I was spending a day waiting for my car to be done when I should have been hanging out with my friends, this being the first time home during my first round of college. Later, I would find out that they blew up four engines in our cars due to carelessness with the changing of the oil ... now that was staggering! And let's not forget the funtastic story of "Lug Nut Day!" which I was a small part of, thanks to the lug nut bouncing off of my ankle as the van went speeding past me. Pop was, in his own way, happy to see me work for SEARS back then and one of those few things that we could talk about and share, I told him some of the stories, including the "Lug Nut Day!" that Ron White later made popular, and Pop just laughed and shook his head.

With all of that history that my family has with SEARS, it was sad, though not surprising, of the closing of the store. One of the strengths of the store franchise was their dedication to customer service, to which I still preach about these days. We were taught as sales people to talk to everyone and make them feel welcome. Chatting with a customer was a lot of fun and often the highlight of my day there and I made sure that if a customer had a problem or a question, I could help. If I didn't have the answer, I went to find someone who did and used that moment as a "Teachable Moment!" as Pop called them to learn more about how things worked and how to be a better employee. For a few years there, Hardware and Lawncare of my store was the top of the district with accolades and awards with letters of appreciation too from all sorts of people, both managers and customers! I was proud for a good few years to be part of the family, but it didn't last. They destroyed things by cutting hours to 20 hours per week and yet demanding you put 40+ hours of effort into your job. I just shook my head and yet kept on trying. Now, I got yelled at for often working more than my twenty, having to cover Hardware because we couldn't get the college students to show up for the late night shifts, so that meant that I had to work a double shift. When asked about that, I would tell them the truth and that lasted for a while until I got accused of Time Theft! Now this was disturbing and shocking to me since they were accusing me of clocking in and not working. When I asked them to see the video footage of me doing this, which they said they had, they told me it would be a violation of security protocols, which I about fell out of my chair laughing! "You guys showed us during orientation that those cameras would zoom in and count the freckles on the back of the salesgirl's neck. So, if you could do that, you need to get that tape and show me, please!" Of course they didn't and I was told by my lawyer friend that this could have been grounds for a lawsuit. I turned it down. "Only a fool fights in a burning house ... and this place is burning," I said and he nodded. He told me that when he heard about my dismissal, he checked with others and found out that SEARS had a few cases of discrimination and wrongful termination pending ... I just shrugged. I had my pride and I just moved on to the best of my ability.

Still, even with that having happened, I still had a lot of warm feelings about SEARS, especially after a few years of watching the downwards slide and also talking with others who went through the same sort of garbage with SEARS. Honestly, these days, it breaks my heart. The place, at its height, was a fantastic place to work and I made a lot of friends through fellow co-workers and customers, including a few of the Gulfstream mechanics, one actually inviting me onboard with a fellow who would become a good friend of mine, the Bearded Lantern, when they were testing some of the G-series jets. Fun, fun, fun! I sold these fantastic guys and gals the tools needed to do their jobs, tool boxes to contain and protect them, and even replace them when they wore out or broke. I learned how to repair so many things from tools to common things around the house like sinks and toilets, even doors and garage doors too. I was a ball of fire to watch! Best story involved me, after going to Big Ticket Sales and wanting to return to Hardware since there was little to no sales where they put me in Vacuums ... no one would come in to buy those damned things after work or later, fools! Well, that was them trying to get me to quit I suppose. So, the dare was could I do ten grand in sales in one week went returned to Hardware. I cracked my knuckles and said, "Let's get dangerous!" with an evil smile and got to work. On the first day, being Sunday and only a six hour shift, I managed to do over six grand! By the following Friday and Saturday, I easily doubled that, thanks to the Gulfstream gang coming in and looking for me. Management saw that they were going to have to keep me around for a while. Now, to be fair, I shot myself in the foot with me picking on some of the managers that we had there. Two ladies who were control freaks and just out to lord over people, tried their best to be the "End-All-And-BE-All!" of the store. My mocking of one of them with the "Let's BE Happy!" Dance that one of these ladies did certainly didn't help and that probably started the thought of a way to get me to leave SEARS. Well, that's life and it worked out better in the long run than in the short run, though I was told that the stories of my rampage when I left was legendary! None of it happened since I walked out, angry, but with the thought of keeping quiet. They still owed me several weeks of PTO, which meant that it would be smart to wait until after the check was cut. And, when it was, it was significant! Pop just had shook his head in disbelief at my termination, but I told him not to worry. I would land on my feet. Now, I had been told that there were some words between Pop and management up there about what happened, but little of anything else. I just shrugged, saying that was between them and Pop. Not my concern. Pop never spoke of it to me and that was that.

In 2001, I would start with the Firm which was right around the corner and I did make an appearance at the store, to which I was surprised that people remembered me, but nothing bad happened. I even saw the ladies that I had mocked several years before, but they kept quiet, even as I smirked and shopped. I want to say that Pop retired before the start of 2000 or so and he and Mom had moved away from St. Simons Island to Bonifay not too long later, but I could be wrong. I just know he said that he was done with work and was going to enjoy his retirement. He and Mom did!

Now, with me driving around the site and watching the buildings stand as the developers prepare to do what they are going to do with the place, apartments or townhouses is what I keep on hearing from people in the know. The Firm might have a hand in the development, but I haven't heard anything as of yet ... it will be interesting. While I'm overall heartbroken over the end of the dynasty, I also know that this is life. My family had a huge slice of history with SEARS and in our way, Pop and I were proud to be part of it.

BE Happy!

Love and Kisses,

Loonia

Coffee With The Princess!

Fighting In A Burning House!

**Giggles!**

The trouble with me is that when aroused, I can be a horrible Southern gal. I'm short, about five feet tall without heels, and nowadays, I'm slowly deflating down to my middle school weight, and surprisingly feeling good. Now, my friends like FaeBlimpDrgn would graciously say that I'm a nice person. I have changed a lot since I was angry and bitter, all at thing that I brought on to myself. Sort of a dark angel, I suppose. I like to think I didn't ever do anything more criminal than speed too much, drink too much before 2000, or get into a few bar fights. Well, in my defense, I was seriously drinking back then and suffering due to my beloved Kaitlynn's passing in August 1991 and have been having to deal with it as the poison was eating away at my heart and blackening my soul. Having the amputation back in October 2020, where I had a portion of my left foot removed and had to get my life and health together, which also meant on working on my finances too. The amputation cost me about ten to fifteen thousand dollars in cash and I have groovy insurance! Working on improving this, I have been speaking to the CPA here at the Firm and he's highly suggested that I ne need to get some help on that score too, along with my emotional problems too. I have held off on going to some psychologist, but it's not off the table. All of this has taken a lot of work to improve, which I'm doing one step at a time, and keep on talking to my besties like the before-mentioned FaeBlimpDrgn and a few others as well. All-in-all I have things handled.

This morning, I'm hyper-charged, thanks to some poor sleep last night and the meds that I took right before bed are screwing with me a bit this morning. I think it's because I stayed up last night, a rare thing on a work-night, and had way too much fun! So, what am I, this little pugilistic and pugnacious little gasbag doing for her kicks? Well, let me show you:

Frompinkieytart -9:13 PM Hello😊, sorry can I use one of your picture as mural art, am currently on a project and you will be paid and credited for it

TODAY

Sent by you5:01 AM No, thank you. Why should I let you have permission for some of my art? You say that you will pay me, but how can I also trust you?

Frompinkieytart -5:02 AM Put your mind at rest you are totally secure with me and you have nothing to worry about okay

Frompinkieytart -5:02 AM I was thinking about using the picture from your gallery for the Art piece if that’s fine by you?

Frompinkieytart -5:03 AM It’s just going to be an inspiring muse for an art project you’ll be paid for it

Sent by you5:06 AM Like I said before, no thank you. Mm, I have serious doubts since you are repeating what I just said. How do I know that you are not some stupid bot? AI has been starting its uprise ticking online and especially here on Deviant Art.

Frompinkieytart -5:08 AM I’m a rightful and legit human being am not here to hurt you okay

Frompinkieytart -5:08 AM

These are some payments made by my client and it went through successfully

Frompinkieytart -5:09 AM im not all those fake bot or the stupid Al you are calling me

Frompinkieytart -5:10 AM It’s an electronic deposit and its very easier and faster through it

Sent by you5:16 AM Ah, so I see. You want me to give you artwork for something you didn't do to an unnamed client, who is supposed paying you, and all you can show is is some screen shots that I cannot see well at all? Either you are trying to be a slick thief or just am an electron conman and not an artist at all. This should be reported to the moderators here so you can be dealt with. I'm sorry, honey. You are not what or who you are hinting at and I do not and will not trust you. Good day.

Conversation End

Now, I have to admit that at the time since I was doing some light work while focusing also on getting the day started, I did NOT see the images at all, but as you can see, I sure as hell can at this moment! And I did not end the conversation, y'all ... I let this fool keep on with his little game. And the account is still active and I have not banned him yet, but I'm hoping that this little stupid moment has perhaps helped get the attention of those who need to step in and get this fool and others like him. I want to have faith that Deviant Art will step up.

BE Happy!

Love and Kisses,

Loonia the Pugilist!

Coffee With The Princess!

Live and Learn!

**Giggles!**

I find myself laughing rightly and loudly this morning as I go through the start of this Manic Monday. Earlier, I was working on waking up, glaring at the coffee maker as it gurgles back at me, almost seeming like it's laughing at me. Pouring the coffee and going through the e-mails, text messages, and even the chatter both here on Deviant Art and FurAffinity, my poor brain is still fighting off the desire to sleep, not to wake up ... and here I am, awake and concerned. Let me expand on my though process.

Recently, I have been caught up with the glitter and glamor of AI or Artificial Intelligence's ability to churn out images, which look great on the surface and then you start noticing the details. Like the best example I have: hands. When you were a kid, you were told that you have five fingers. Ok, then you look at your hand and notice the difference. There's one finger that really stands out by the placement and the shape to which you learn that it's called a thumb. With it the hand is better able to grasp and hold things that are important to you. It takes teamwork to make that process work. Then you put the thought of the thumb aside and look at the other fingers and notice quickly that they are not all the same length. There's the forefinger, the leader of the team that points things out. There's the index finger, which is like the first mate or first officer of a ship who's job is to get the rest of the team to follow through the task, whatever that might be. Then you notice the third and fourth fingers. The ring finger, one that leads to the heart, as my Mom, the romance writer, used to tell me about how it's often thought to lead right to the heart, though over the years, I have often noticed that the index finger before and next to it does too. Perhaps they have to work together for the process of the love that the ring finger holds onto tight. Then there's the pinky, which can be forgotten. Ok ... now, think about the removal of that finger, so pull it back and try to hold something like a pencil, glass, or something that you need to make sure is balanced properly and that's when you realized that this finger offers balance and support. Therefore, you now have the powerful hand, which now allows us to do more and interact with others and the world around us.

With this in mind and then all of the thoughts and observations from others who have been trying to make me think, to process, to realize, and then to spin my moral compass ... and then the cold reality slap is I had this right originally before I got caught up with this: "This feels wrong!"

Now, while I still think of AI as a tool like a pencil, a pair of scissors, a box of tools, or even a computer with the various programs, there has to be more to the artificial intelligence, keyword is intelligence. While the AI can take the key points like #Hand and render it, there can be the possibility for errors in the process like an extra finger off and to the side. Look at said hand and notice that there five fingers and you might accidentally, like I did on one especially, that there five fingers, so it's ok ... then you start checking the math, the logical side of your brain, which knows from exploration, discovery, and then experience to put it together ... and there's the slap! There's actually six fingers! That's wrong!

As I was refilling and sipping on my coffee in my office, a gentleman came wandering in and needed something ... but he stopped when he notice that my usually smiling face and ready to help nature was not there. There sat a person who was lost in thought, processing if you will, He asked and I spoke to him about what one commenter had mentioned to me this morning in a huge text message: plagiarism! Now, this was my Mom's voice whispering into my ear and a gentle hand on my left shoulder. This was a word that she had me not only look up, spell, and then use in a sentence, Mom also got me to understand why it is so important. This not just goes along with writing, but all the forms of art: painting, drawing, song writing, composition of both music and words and so many others too! Why? It's because the human mind is the best and most powerful tool at your disposal! It learns, discovers, experience, and then builds. Through interaction, the mind gets to experience what is going on around and hopefully has inspiration to expand. And the process starts again. However, without this necessary process, learning cannot be easily done. While there is no failure involved, engendering negative emotion, there's also no sense of accomplishment. AI does the work for you through taking the input and produces the various things that are based on what it comes up with. While it can look great like a enticing aroma like baked bread, it can also smell obnoxious like a fart. And that invokes either positive or negative emotions ...

The fellow listened to my rambling and processing with a thoughtful expression on his face and listened to get more understanding since I was all over the place with the collection of thoughts and then he just held up a hand and that's when he asked for clarification and understanding to make sure he was on the right page with me. "It sounds like plagiarism." That was his takeaway and that's something that made me stop cold and remember what I originally said a while back with the simple phrase: "This is wrong." He told me about the 60 Minutes show he saw on television, speaking about the state of education. The plague of term papers that are disturbing in the theft of others work to be passed off as original work. My Mom gave me hell back in the day when I tried writing my first term paper in middle school and she was horrified by what she discovered when she asked questions about the topic. I didn't know the topic well enough and was unable to show that I understood any of it. She started to make me redo it and then took me outside into the poolyard and sit with her. That's when she started to teach ...

"Honey, look around you and take in what you see. The beagle wandering about the yard, sniffing and observing the world as best as she can do. The cats sleeping in the warm sun. The breeze that gifts you with the smell of flowers and then you notice high above a bird in flight. The water of the swimming pool lapping against the concrete and the diving board looking as inviting as the waters below." She paused and looked at me. "Now that you have seen and taken in the sights, I want you to go inside and write a few paragraphs about what you have seen. But I don't want you just to repeat what I said alone. No, I want you use what I have helped you take in to your brain and then think about what you have learned through the teamwork of your senses. Your eyes took in the sights, your nose gathered the smells, and your ears have recorded the sounds. Now, your brain is working on processing all of that. Now, your task is to do something that for to make you father to experience through your artist form. In this case: writing."

Dutifully, I went inside and went to my desk and sat down to think and process what's needed to be done. What I found was interesting. Entering my realm of experience was drawing, so I turned slightly around to the drawing table and picked up a pencil. "What is it like to fly like a bird?" I found myself wondering, so I started to draw a bird. Instead of focusing on the thought of rushing the image, focusing on the finish product as I was told by my various teachers and other artists, but the process. Taking the various shapes that made up the image of the bird, I used ovals, circles, triangles, cones, and got them to work together to get them to build, to create, and to understand. With it the basic shapes, the bird took shape and I thought about the various parts working together and then the bird too more shape. But it wasn't about rendering the bird to the fullest. No, it was the understanding both intellectually and emotionally. That is when it hit me! I ha had an idea of what to write.

"What is it like to fly?"

So, using what I knew from observation with Mom there in the poolyard, the dissection of a dead bird, and learned through textbooks about what I saw making up the bird, I applied my emotions to inspire. Pushing aside the sadness of the bird's death, I thought about the discovery of the inner workings of the bird in the tray. The teamwork of the parts working together to make the bird alive and exist and the differences between myself and the bird. Flight was the topic, so I used my emotions to wonder about the ability to fly. Now, while I wish I did or even could remember what I wrote, but the end result was that Mom was impressed. The he takeaway from all of that was she was proud of me and also that I learned what to do and not to do.

So, in this example, failure was a good thing and it can be part of the process of learning. Unfortunately, in America at least, it is NOT part of the process, just something that makes no sense outside of just a supposed punishment. I cannot say what happens in a lot of houses and homes with kids involved, but I suspect that many just don't care. Neither do most of the teachers that I have worked with in the past and the students were not supported by much, if any effort. It was funny that I got chastised back in the day by both teachers and administration, especially since I was a substitute teacher. I said that I care what happens to these kids, but most of the time I either got laughed at or just discouraging looks. This is the reason I gave up.

Still these days, I find myself in wonderment about the state of things, though I hear from friends, former colleagues, and even others who have a significant other doing the job of teaching in some form or fashion, even a few who work in administration. All have often begged me to return and I just shake my head. To be fair, I have been out of the process of teaching since the late 1990s, so I'm almost thirty years out of date and seriously behind the times.

But, I cannot help but to wonder at the state of things and how life is going to continue after I'm gone, though I know lie will go on.

BE Happy!

Love and Kisses,

Loonia

Coffee With The Princess!

A Cup Of Ambition, Y'All!

**Giggles!**

This goes out to FaeBlimpDrgn and my crew at the various role-playing places that I hang out at when I'm in that sort of mischievous mercurial mood!

Recently, I have been surfing about the Amazon site and noticing that the comic book gang has been publishing the classic series that I remember as a young gal back in my days of reading tons and tons of comics between the various classic books Mom kept on tossing at me while I was often kept under lock and key. Mom often did that to keep me from wandering about East Beach & St. Simons Island, Georgia, and getting into all sorts of trouble, but honestly, she really didn't need to do that, but for her sake of sanity, she did. Mostly this was because of my Big Sinister Sister and her perchance for stealing the family car so that she could run away from home. Back then, it was the mid to late 1970s and the start into the early 1980s, where Mom was cheating on Pop with her boss and publisher, something that I was told about and knew something was wrong, but ... honestly again, y'all, I stayed out of it. Perhaps it was because I was a simple gal or that I just trusted my folks to work things out, but whatever the reason, I kept myself busy with my own world. Friends of mine who grew up with me and knew me pretty good suggested that this was my way of dealing with all of the chaos this had brought to my world. But I just would say these days, "That was the way things." We did not speak of what happened within the family, at least I didn't, but with me getting older and trying to make some sense out of my life, I keep posting these journals ... "Coffee With The Princess!" ... originally to get me to write and share my misadventures, but I have also found them to be very therapeutic to say the least! I don't blame anyone for what was going on back then these days. Believe it or not, I mostly laugh and shake my head.

So, how do I remember things? Well, they were idyllic and fantastic! Often, I was stretched out on my enormous bed with all of the sheets always nice and clean, usually with a bowl of steamy boiled peanuts and a frosty Coke on the nightstand that Pop made for me out of cinderblocks and water-proof wood, which was of and to the left since I'm left handed, though sometimes I can use both hands at the same time, and Chaos and Mayhem lurking like kitty sharks, waiting to jump right on in to the situation! I was mostly a Marvel gal, though I did manage to keep up with the New Teen Titans, who were starting out and attracting attention very much like the new X-Men. When you think of these two groups, you probably think of the standard cast of characters ... for the X-Men, you have Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus ... for the Teen Titans, you have Robin, Raven, Cyborg, the Changeling, though he goes by Beast Boy, which was his original name, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash. But I also remember the funtastic mash-up stories with Superman versus Spider-Man, to which later they would team up and really do what they do best ... save the day! Later, you had a very out there mash-up with Batman and the Incredible Hulk, which originally and unimpressed by the idea, but Pop picked me up the huge treasury, which many of these stories were published, and then later the infamous crossover with the Teen Titans and the Uncanny X-Men! Along with the classic Rom: Spaceknight, the Shogun Warriors, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, all from Marvel, I got through a lot of these days with just a bit of focus. That was how I dealt with home-life ... that and my role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Villains & Vigilantes ... were my safe harbor!

At school, which insanely enough, I always wanted to go to, which used to make my Big Sister insane with disbelief! When it was the elementary school, I biked to and from school, though often staying in the afternoon at the library there at the school or the old and musty & dusty one up at the Village. It's called the Marshes of Glynn Libraries, but it seems like it was called something else back in the day ... I just cannot remember! At either library, I did homework and poured over the books, reading voraciously! Often, Mom, sometimes Pop, would end up calling either place, looking for me. Though, I cannot tell you the many times this has happened, but I would rather have Pop come and get me than Mom calling the places and making sure I was there. Though, to be fair, I still got the lecture and often the 3-Week-Grounding Pounding!

Okay, y'all! You are now thoroughly set-up and hopefully enchanted or at least still reading. So, here we go to the actual reason for the journal entry. Last night's drifting into the Dream World, as I often have called it these days especially, but I used to tell my friends with this term applied, even before Nightmare on Elm Street came out. When dreaming, I often would be cast in the image of Israfel Vincent, my usual avatar of the Dream World, though sometimes as either Caitlynn Wildfire or even the Princess, who's had the pleasure hanging out with the Dirty Pair, Kei and Yuri! Anyways, I'm standing in the line at the local grocery store, which has surprisingly enough a classic look. That old-school appeal of the gal with the reading glasses, running the register, the boys bagging, and the manager smoking a cigar and walking through the store. Somehow or another I had picked up issue #1 of the New Teen Titans and had it in hand, I do remember glancing at the colorful cover and thinking what an awesome find! I managed to have gotten #1 years ago for $80 and it's here at in my office at the Firm. However, somehow ... I hear what sounds like the Joker's laughter filling the air and people looking around. I started to move and try to do something ... anything ... when a gentle hand lands on my shoulder and I glance up into those gorgeous eyes of Clark Kent! For or a moment, I had a thought of the classic look of Christopher Reeve, especially with this being in color, but somehow things change slowly to that awesome style George Perez graced us with. "Ma'am, I've got this," Mr. Kent said before disappearing in a flash of blues, reds, and gold, making me go, "Why not? He can move almost as fast as the Flash!" Laughter keeps on going and that is when I turn around and I get to see George Perez, who's armed with his ink pen and he just winks at me, reinforcing that everything was going to be ok. "But he's gone," I sound myself whispering before another hand lands on my shoulder. I look up into the bright and impish smile of Caitlynn, who's just as I remember her, but in of all things the chainmail bikini! "Let's go and help Supes, darlin'!" she laughed and I s started to run with her as I noticed my folks and others who I knew ... and realized that they had also moved on from my life and ...

... And I awoke this morning to the song on the radio, "Don't You (Forget About Me!) by Simple Minds, one of the many songs that my beloved Kaitlynn and I danced to when we were together so long ago. And yet, I felt comforted and happy! No tears ... even now as I type this.

Keep on Dreaming, y'all! And BE Happy!

Love and Kisses,

Loonia

Coffee With The Princess!

The Sinister Seduction of Service Managers and Their Moronic Machinations!

**Giggles!**

Yesterday when the gang was sharing stories about dealing with the various dealerships that sell people cars here in Savannah, Georgia, it got me thinking to the story of what Kaitlynn and I dealt with back in the late summer of 1980s.

I had just arrived to pick up Kaitlynn at her parents's place out at Cannon's Point on the north end of St. Simons Island, Georgia. We were planning a day at the beach and some shopping before returning to shower and change to head out for the evening and fun on the town. Usually, I just ran the bell and then came in with my key in hand to the enormous estate. Something like eight to ten bed rooms, several sitting rooms, a couple of spacious living rooms, including the theater room, and then the outdoor deck and patio where you could sit outside and just relax. There wasn't much around and still woods, though I doubt there's much of that these days with all of the development of the land's resources for better or for worse.

From the foyer, I called out to Kait who came around the corner briefly as she was dealing with her Mom on the phone. Seems that Kait's Pop had asked about driving the Mercedes around and making sure that it ran ok. Otherwise, she was to take care of it. Frowning since I'm not used to having a car that you don't use, I asked Kait about that and she laughed with her rich laugh and said that they usually have people come out and check up on the place, but no one, outside the cleaning staff, had been out here before her in about six months! I just was stunned, especially since the place was so clean. "Oh we do have a staff that comes out here once a month and does that, checking up on the restocking of the non-perishables and ready to come at a moment's notice if we need the place set up for a weekend or so," Kait explained as she finished up sipping her coffee and stirring her "Hersey's Big Block chocolate bar!" into her coffee, probably along with at least three packages of sugar or even a shot of Gentleman Jack. Putting aside breakfast for the moment, I just was stunned. I remember dealing with the plethora of rental homes around East Beach and the problem we had recently with the creep who was breaking into the homes and just living there for months on end, eating all of the food, driving the cars, and Gawd only knows what else!

That rich laugh of Kait's brought me back to the here-and-now as my gorgeous gal glides out into the room with her comfortable outfit on and ready to roll. "Let's go!" Kait announced with that dazzling smile and I nodded with my own smile., However, when we got to the garage, just a nice stroll from the house, across the estate, past the pristine pond and the quacking ducks, to the enormous garage house. Going inside took me back to the days of working on cars with Pop and Kait, being a gear-head herself, more than knew what to do with cars and such. Now, starting the car was interesting since it was making some horrible sounds after a bit of a few false starts. Frowning, Kait popped the hood and bent over to check things out while I leaned against the other side and peeked in. Everything looked just fine, though it sounded like there was an angry and annoyed animal within the engine. "Seems like there's a misfire with the cylinders," she growled with her own annoyance. Looking at me with those sparkling emerald eyes, she smiled. "Well, we could chance a drive over to the mainland or get a tow truck out here take the car into the shop." I suggested that we call a tow truck just in case there was more going on with the car than either of us knew. Looking underneath the car found no leaking fluids, gas and oil was topped off, and the battery seemed to check out fine. Checking on the clipboard about the last time when the staff checked the car, it was actually a month or so more than what her Pop figured. So that much time of sitting around could have caused a few unforeseen problems. So, Kait got on the phone, called the dealership, and made the arrangements for the guy to come out and get the car.

Now, here at the estate, we had no problem with finding plenty of things to do while we waited, but after three hours of waiting, Kait's left eyebrow began to twitch, showing that my gal was starting to get angry. Patience was not her strong suit. I stayed silent wisely, letting her start to pace. About the room, back and forth, and just working out the anger. I could even see her trying to stay cool, but that was slowly disappearing too. Thank Gawd this was the moment that the guy showed up, pulling up in the drive. Kait and I went out there to greet him and the guy seemed to be nice enough, though he seemed to have touched nerve with Kait. Seems that after a few minutes of listening to them talk showed me that Kait's temper was not going to cool. Nope. But for the moment, she opened the garage door and the guy's buddy got out to help push the car out into the drive. I th think he grumbled about us not being smart enough to get the car out of the garage before they got there, but I could be wrong. It was watching them take care of the car for towing since this was a ruck where it jacked up the front end to be towed. Getting into her Trans-Am, we followed the truck, especially with Kait not letting them get out of sight with her Pop's car. The trip was uneventful and smooth, though once again, Kait was getting annoyed. Traffic was thick since this was the lunch rush hour with people getting out and such, which I was used to, but obviously Kait was not having any of it.

So, thoroughly stewing, Kait pulled the Trans-Am into the dealership's drive and went to talk to the service master with me following close by. Right off, he was not happy to be dealing with a pair of gals with such an expensive car, but even worse was we had no idea what was happening. Kait went ahead and told him what the story was, what we had done and not done, and what we were asking the gang here to do. Well, he was flabbergasted! Six months or more and not driven?! And this being a Mercedes? I was waiting for him to call us morons or twits or whatever, but he just nodded and went off to deal with this problem. Kait glanced at me and we went into the waiting room to see what was what. Another three hours spent there, with Kait getting up and asking about how the task was going. Carrying plenty off quarters with me, I was ready to buy some of the vending machine food. Kait suggested that we at least walk up the street to Willy's Winnie Wagon, a groovy burger place to dine at and off we went. Apparently when we got back, the service manager had been looking for us and had some bad news. I stayed back and was not privy to the chatter, but apparently Kait was having none of it. That's when I went in to see what happened. The service manager told her that it was going to take two weeks or so to get all of this done since there was a list of things that needed to be done. And with each thing that the guy ticked off ticked off Kait that much more. I thought there was going to be a massive maelstrom at any moment ...

And that's when Kait got silent. "Fine," is all she said before we packed up and left the Mercedes there, taking the Trans-Am home. On the way back, Kait was silent and I was getting uncomfortable. I knew asking stupid questions or making the wrong comment here would be bad, so I opted for silence. Now, when we got back to the estate and pulled into the driveway, that was when she exploded! Parking her beloved ride was the only safe thing she did before going off, but it was a whole new level of rage that I had not seen in Kait. Keep in mind, this was ... I believe ... still early in my romance with her, so I was just observing and hoping to Gawd the things did not get too far out there. However, it was her going off and having a private call with her Pop that made me feel better ... that was until I heard Kait explaining what happened. And it was ugly! However, her Pop said that he would take care of it and that would be that. With that, we went on with our date-day.

About a bit more than a week later, the dealership called Kait and had asked her to come and pick up the Mercedes with me driving my car, though Kait offering to let me drive her Trans-Am. I laughed, shaking my head and saying that I have never driven such a beast before and did NOT wish to be the one to destroy another car. Kait respected that and off we went. The car trip this tine was much more relaxed and fun. I was keeping my mood positive and seeing Kait happy to be out and about was good. At her job, Kait was the administrative assistant to the President of the place where she worked and was often under all sorts of stress. Which is why having fun was also important to her life. At this point in my life, Kait was more than happy to teach me to lightened up and enjoy life. "Putting past the actions of the dealership, they have Pop's car ready and that's all I need to know." I agreed and we sped off to further adventures.

Upon arrival, we found the Mercedes sitting out front, all clean and highly polished, looking like brand new. I parked off and to the side, out of the way of the traffic coming and going there before following her inside. Ohmygawd! When we did, it was like the rolled out the red carpet for the royals! The nice gal who greeted us went back and got the service manager who came out and shook Kait's hand and apologized for it taking so long and any poor treatment on the part of the people. Now, Kait was in a gentle and gracious mood, almost purring, since she was so happy. And I will tell you they gave us a very generous display of making sure that we both ... WE ... both were happy. Honestly, none of this befronted at all. I had dealt with car dealerships, various mechanics, and everything in-between. SEARS was the main one that we used at this time since Pop was often too busy to get out there and work on these "newer" cars since he loved the classic ones that he could tinker with and make cherry. Me, mine was a Dodge Colt, still a reasonably good car and still ended up lasting until 1994 or 1995.

Since then, I have assisted with the upkeep of the cars here at the Firm, making sure they have gas, are nice and clean, and the service is kept up with the help of my office Kait, who could be a sister, but she's a good deal younger. I'm very happy with having her in my life, just as much as I feel blessed to have had Kait in my life too.

Thanks for reading!

BE Happy!

Love and Kisses,

Loonia