Rural Routes, Blog Version

Here’s the thing…

I was at the Winnipeg airport preparing for a flight to Ottawa for the annual getaway with my sisters. I took out my phone to search for my electronic boarding pass.

“Can I help you?” a uniformed man asked.

“I’m just looking for my thing,” I said as I scanned through the phone’s apps. Women of my age may recognize the word. When you lose your nouns, any ‘thing’ will do.

“Here it is,” I said triumphantly.

“Well, we’ll just take your thing and go over to this thing over here (pointing to a kiosk) and get a baggage tag for you,” He said.

“I warn you, I am going to say ‘thing’ twelve times in the next two minutes,” he added with a smile.

I didn’t count, but I’m pretty sure he said the word more than that in our time together at the kiosk.

When we were finished, he directed me to the conveyor  belt where I could deposit my suitcase.

“Then I can be on my way to Ottawa to do my thing,” I said.

“That was good,” he said. “I wish I had said it.”

Toasting the piano

We were sad to learn that the woman from whom we purchased our new home had died earlier this summer.

When I saw the obituary online, I wrote a short note of condolence on the site.

We only met her once, the day we came to view the property. She sat outside while the real estate agent gave us the official tour.

We noted the piano in one of the upstairs rooms and later asked her if she played.

“Not much any more,” she replied. “I’m hoping that whoever takes the condo will take the piano, too.”

To me, this seemed like a sign from above.

We had our own piano at home and had debated whether or not to bring it with us to the city. Neither of our adult children wanted it. It would be nice to have it, but it would be cumbersome to move.

Now I could have a piano without having to move it. A win-win situation.

Several days later, we received a card in the mail from the previous owner’s sister.

The day the deal was closed, she said, she and her sister drank a toast to the piano that had cinched it. She wished me “Happy Playing”.

 

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