Category: Life

Posted in Life

A little dent and a big discount

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The delivery guys with our new garage freezer arrived ahead of schedule. I didn’t have to spend my day waiting through the four-hour delivery window.

I watched as they lowered it to the ground and unboxed it. One of them called me out of the garage and said, “I need to show you this.” He showed me a small dent on the edge of the door, about knee height. He said, “You have two options. You can send it back to the warehouse. Or you can accept it and I will call in to see if there’s a discount.”

I called my wife out to take a look. If we sent it back, who knows how long we’d have to wait for a new one to be delivered? It took three weeks to get this one. We decided to keep it, especially it was just cosmetic and it was, after all, for the garage.

The delivery guy immediately called someone who answered, “Save the sale.” He gave her the information, and she replied, “We can give you $165 off the price.” I didn’t expect that much, so I said, “Sounds good. We’ll take it.” So we got a twenty-five percent discount for a little dent that I haven’t even thought about until now.

The freezer was packed in a styrofoam padded box, so who knows when or how it got damaged? I’m sure the company didn’t want it back, so this was a win for everyone.

Posted in Life

Chance Encounters at the Coffee Shop

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

After dropping off a dog at the groomer, I like to sit at a coffee shop and do a little reading and writing. It was such a nice morning to sit outside, eavesdrop on other conversations, and watch cars lining up at the drive through.

Suddenly, a man walked up to me, smiling, offering me his hand. I shook it, but he must have seen the puzzled look on my face. He said something, but I didn’t understand him because he had a heavy accent. I did understand when he said, “Are you waiting for someone?”

I chuckled, “Just for my dog at the groomer.” He apologized and went into the coffee shop.

Ten minutes later, another man came up to me and said, “Did someone come up to you, talking about a coat? He was looking for me! He said we look exactly alike, so I had to come meet you.”

I didn’t think he looked like me, other than having a gray beard. But hey, maybe we guys with gray beards all look the same. I shook his hand, too, before he went into the coffee shop.

Most people ignore you at the coffee shop, intent on picking up their order or looking at a computer. How fun to be mistaken for my double!

Posted in Life

Do not, I repeat, do not enter this driveway

Posted on by William Douthwaite

This homeowner has been carefully guarding her driveway for a year.

There are no houses under construction in this part of the neighborhood. No neighbors parking on the street overnight. It’s not near a school bus stop, so no one’s using it as a turnaround.

She just really, really doesn’t want anyone pulling in.

I find this curious. It’s not a great-looking driveway. If she really cared about it, wouldn’t she pressure wash it? And what an inconvenience. Every time she comes and goes, she has to get out of the car, disconnect the chain, and then reconnect it. I’d get tired of that routine in a day or two.

Two other houses beside her have a similar barrier at the foot of each driveway. It’s a very paranoid or protective section of the neighborhood.

It’s as bad as the many homeowners who put reflective sticks in the grass by the road so no one parks on their weedy front lawn where they stack discarded furniture days before big trash pick up. My neighbors need to relax.

Posted in cookies, Life

Everyone loves the cookie guy!

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Khalid Elkady on Unsplash

I love delivering cookies. Every box brings a smile to the recipient’s face. With a gasp, they get their first look and exclaim, “These are amazing!”

But it gets better. When I pulled into a driveway last week, a little dachshund-mix dog greeted me in the driveway. Her six-inch tail was whipping back and forth a mile a minute as I stepped out of the van. With happy squinting eyes, she sat while I scratched her chin and chest, ran my hand down her back.

After a minute of that, I told her, “Hey, I’ve got some cookies for your mom.” She led me up the walk to the front door and I pushed the Ring doorbell with my elbow. Our customer answered the door and I said, “I love your welcoming committee!”

“Oh, was she out here?”

I laughed, “She’s not supposed to be out here?”

Apparently not. I thought they had an invisible fence or something. But my new little friend was just enjoying a few moments of sunshine and freedom on a beautiful afternoon.

Even the doggies are happy when the cookie guy shows up!

Need cookies? Check us out: backseatgracebakery.com

Posted in Life, neighbor, neighborhood

Let’s tear this place up!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The Great Dane and I walk by this recently built house just about every day. Lately, the owner has been methodically tearing out this large section of his lawn.

Built on a curve in the road, this house is either built on a double lot or a really big oversized lot. Just after it was complete, the owner tore out all the landscaping around the house. He removed all the shrubs and mulch, and put down sod in those areas. New home landscaping typically isn’t exciting. Once you’ve closed on the house, you can fix up your yard any way you want.

Next, the owner installed about two dozen lights in the yard. The lights were along the driveway or front walkway. They were all out in the middle of the yard. I’m sure there was a reason.

Next, he set up cinderblocks and two-by-fours as a makeshift fence. At first, I thought he might be setting up a little garden. But every day the cleared area grew bigger. I only saw him working on it one time. With nothing more than a grubbing hoe, he chopped away at his lawn. I took the above picture two weeks ago. As of this morning, he had cleared out that whole area. I should have stopped to ask him why he was tearing up all the sod.

Okay, so what’s going on? What’s the plan? What is he going to do with this thousand square foot area?

  • Maybe he’s going to pave this area and move the fence closer to the road. But that’s a huge area for a paver patio.
  • If he were putting in a pool, he would have let the contractor take all that out with heavy machinery.
  • He’s already got a large fenced-in backyard. It seems like that’s where you would put your pool or patio.
  • Adding on to the house? I’d see a permit.
  • Maybe he wants a different kind of grass. St. Augustine grass takes lot of water and care. Perhaps he’ll go with Zoysia or Bahia.
  • Maybe he’ll plant lots of trees and have a little park next to his house. That’s a creative idea.

I’m interested to see what happens next. Oh, and you know what else? All the windows are blacked out, so I see no light from inside when we walk by in the evening. Hmm. What do you think is going on in there?

Posted in Life

A Tire Blowout and a Stranger’s Help: Journey Reflections

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Sebastian Huxley on Unsplash
Daily writing prompt
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
View all responses

On our way to Texas, we discovered that the camper-trailer tires weren’t as roadworthy as we thought. Somewhere between Pensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama, we felt a thud that made us pull over on I-10. One of the trailer tires had blown, leaving a trail of rubber behind us.

Hey, it’s just one of those things you encounter on a trip. We had a spare tire, but not the tools we needed to change it. Not a problem. We had purchased roadside assistance, called them up, were assured that help was on the way.

We waited. And we waited. And we waited a little longer. The roadside assistance folks called to say it would be a while. The truck was in Mobile. There was a lot of traffic. It would be a long while before their arrival.

Another car pulled off the highway about 25 yards behind us. A woman with a few young children called her husband to come and change out a tire. When he arrived, he changed her tire and then kindly let us use his tools to put the spare on our trailer.

As soon as we had the new tire on the trailer and were about to head to our campsite, the roadside assistance truck pulled up to help, three hours since our call for assistance. We thanked him, and headed on our way.

Just a stranger. But a much needed friend.

Posted in dogs, Life

Water adventure at the dog park

Posted on by William Douthwaite

While the dogs were delighted, we were horrified when someone opened the gate and two of our three dogs got into the pond.

We usually only have two dogs, but we were also watching my daughter’s older dog. The dog park surrounds a fenced-in pond populated by turtles, snakes, fish, and no doubt a gator or two. A couple of gates provide access, but I’ve never seen a dog in there.

Until that day. A gentleman with an Irish setter and some kind of terrier opened the gate for them, and two of our dogs eagerly followed. My daughter’s dog, an eleven-year old lab mix spotted a tennis ball in the lake, jumped in, and swam to get it. Her hips are a little stiffer, but she could still swim! And then she wanted someone to throw it back in so she could swim some more.

Our Westie is not a swimmer, but ran around the lake, yapping at the swimming dog, turtles, and fish, and lapping at the murky water.

What about our Great Dane? She didn’t get through the gate, but ran around the outside of the fence, woofing at everyone inside.

Once in the pond enclosure, there was no getting them out. In and out of the water and around the lake, they got wet, dirty, and had the time of their lives. A lady grabbed a few dog biscuits from her car, but our dogs weren’t interested.

After about half an hour, I positioned myself on the bank and waited for them to run by. Once they were distracted by water and a ball, I grabbed each by the collar and ended their water play.

The dogs had fun, the van smelled like wet dog for a while, and they all took good naps when we got home.

Posted in Food, Life

A skinny chicken

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Want to get a rotisserie chicken for supper?”

You never have to ask me twice. At our favorite grocery, where shopping is a pleasure, I love the smell of the birds roasting and frying just beyond the deli counter.

And they smell so good. Which one should I choose? Lemon pepper? Mojo seasoned? I chose a good old-fashioned oven-roasted. It’ll pair well with tonight’s Caesar salad.

I didn’t look at the price tag in the store, so when we got home and I pulled the chicken out of the bag to put on a serving plate, I noticed it wasn’t as cheap as it used to be. Three dollars than just a few years ago. I also noticed that there wasn’t as much meat on the chicken as I remember. This was a skinny chicken. We call it a “Haitian chicken.”

Chicken was the typical supper entree when we traveled to Haiti on medical mission trips. The chickens that were running around there were definitely hormone- and antibiotic-free. They were very skinny and always cooked until well-done. There wasn’t a lot of meat on those bones.

On one bus ride back to our lodging, the driver suddenly veered off the road. A man was standing there holding a live chicken whose legs were tied together. Our driver handed the man a few dollars and he tied the chicken to the roof of the bus. It was part of our supper that night.

Candy bars are smaller. There are fewer chips in the bag. The chickens are skinnier, too.

Posted in Life

Overcoming Media Saturation: Embrace Real-Life Experiences

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Edge2Edge Media on Unsplash

In a recent edition of Recomendo, a weekly newsletter I receive Sunday morning, the editors pointed me to Erik Davis’ talk How to Navigate the Weirdness. I haven’t watched the whole talk yet, but two summary statements caught my attention.

  • “Ground yourself in physical sensations and direct experiences to counterbalance the effects of media saturation and overwhelming information.”

I don’t want to be saturated with media, but it happens. One Google search to learn how to fix a problem with my 3D printer brings up self-help videos on multiple platforms laden with links to other videos and advertisements for related products. It’s like someone dumped a bucket of media on my head. I do this many times a day. I’m overwhelmed with information.

To counter this, I take the dog for a walk, I play my guitar, or I exercise. I do something physical, something that engages my senses, and immerse myself in an experience to escape a virtual world for the real one.

The second statement had a spiritual hue:

  • “Deepen your capacity to embrace uncertainty, mystery, and doubt without searching for fact or reason—not everything fits into a fixed narrative.”

There’s a lot I don’t understand about God. Even though I daily learn new things about him, I always have more questions. At the end of the day, I have to trust what he says without much corroborating evidence.

There’s nothing wrong with some uncertainty. That’s what makes games fun. You don’t know what you’ll be dealt or what number you’ll roll. I love reading mysteries. Doubt is good. It protects me from being scammed.

I love facts. As a logical thinker, I gravitate to reason. But some narratives take me in a new direction. Or, as I now like to say, “I didn’t know where I was going until I got there.”