Uh Oh. Val is THAT PERSON Again.

Sunday was not a good day for Val. 

I was sitting in the recliner and saw Jack come out of the woods that Juno uses for her toilet, and HE WAS LIMPING! He had to stop and sit down, and when he sat his long little body down, he held up his paw. It would have been cute if it wasn’t so heartbreaking. I called Hick, who was at Walmart getting mad at them with the tire of his Oldsmobile. He had a flat but no stem to fix it, and Walmart takes first come, first serve. Hick specifically rushed in ahead of a man he saw get out of his truck, so he could beat him to the service counter. He waited 20 minutes for them to change the oil in a car, and THEN THEY CALLED THE TRUCK GUY! Hick went and complained about being there first, and the worker man said, “Well, we have to put four tires on this truck,” and Hick complained some more about being there first, and why did they skip over him, and the man said, “We just did.” So Hick demanded his keys back and left and went and bought a stem to fix it himself.

ANYHOO…back to Jack. I called Hick and told him Jack was hurt, and he said, “He was just down at the creek with me and Juno, running around having a great time.” He probably didn’t swim, because temps were in the 40s that morning. I asked Hick to take a look at him as soon as he got home. Maybe he stepped on a thorn, or got snake bit. Hick said, “He probably got bit by a snake.” Like that’s the most common thing that could happen. Huh. And the thing that would worry me most. I told him that, and then he said, “Oh, animals get over getting snakebit all the time.” I still don’t know what’s wrong with Jack.

Hick said he looked at his foot and didn’t see anything in it, and Jack didn’t yelp when he pulled on his leg, so he doesn’t think it’s broken. Then HOS and his boy came out, and HOS helped Hick look at Jack’s foot some more. He’s so pitiful. They couldn’t find anything. I looked at Jack on the side porch later. Still nothing. I told Hick that if Jack wasn’t better by the end of the week, I’d taking him to the vet. Hick said, “He’ll be fine.” Meaning, I think, that he’s not spending money on the vet. We’ll see.

Okay, so that started my morning. Then I went to Country Mart for some hamburger for spaghetti for Hick, and some refried beans and Spanish rice for me, to build a Hardee’s chicken bowl which is my new favorite fast food, and only 430 calories. I didn’t think Save A Lot would have that Spanish rice. Anyhoo… I got the hamburger and refried beans and rice and some sugar free Lifesaver mints and Werther’s for Hick. I got to the checkout and barely had to wait, and it was $19.72, so I put in my debit card and it kept saying AUTHORIZING and then it said NOT APPROVED! That's preposterous! I KNOW I have $19.72 in my bank account! So the lady asked the service lady over by where The Pony used to rent the same Thomas the Tank Engine movie every week until they gave it to us…if the internet was down. And she said no. So we tried it again. I looked at the old man behind me and said, “Maybe it’s demagnetized.” And he nodded his head and said, “They’ll do it! Mine did that in Texas at a radio tower!” Since I haven’t been in Texas around a radio tower, I figure I must have put my phone in the pocket with it, even though I am conscious of that, because that’s how Genius said Hick’s card got demagnetized. Maybe that man was afraid I would ask him to pay for my groceries. But I pulled out a $20, because I’m always prepared. And because I buy my lottery tickets in their machines. I bought some, and won $40. Not as much as I wanted to. But at least there’s THAT.

My next stop was at the gas station chicken store for a 44 oz Diet Coke and the chicken I’d been thinking about for two days. It was another bad part of my day. When I walked in, I did NOT smell chicken! That is a travesty, because on a Sunday, EVERYBODY buys chicken! Most people after church, but me because I know they won’t have it again until Wednesday, because the chicken fryers are off on Monday and Tuesday. So, disappointed, and without my correct change, because I was planning on CHICKEN, I still got my soda, and then also two lottery tickets, because I wanted to ask the guy to try my debit card. Uh huh, I’M THAT PERSON who uses a debit card to buy a soda. And two lottery tickets. Which were losers, I might add. But at least my card worked there. I took a check in Walmart the next day just in case, since I didn't have The Pony to run back out for it. (Let the record show that it worked like a charm.)

When I got back home, I wanted to look at Jack’s foot again, and while I had him mostly still and was just leaning over without his long tongue darting into my mouth to clean my teeth…JUNO came running around and stuck her face in mine and tried to wedge in between me and Jack. I spoke to her sharply and hurt her feelings, and then I felt bad, and Jack squirmed loose, and Juno was sad during my evening walk and on the front porch for her evening snack. But I hugged her then and said I was sorry and I think she accepted my apology. Either that, or she really liked the raw hamburger I thawed out for her and Jack.

I certainly hope Even Steven has now balanced out my casino win from last Wednesday. I am not proud of being THAT PERSON who works on a car in the Walmart parking lot (because her husband does not maintain their rattletraps properly), makes excuses for her debit card not working (while you know everyone in line thinks she has no money in her account, or stole that card), and uses a debit card to pay for a soda in a convenience store (thus inconveniencing other customers there for the convenience).