CasinoPalooza 1: Emergency at a Non-Gas-Station Chicken Store

We met up with Sis and Ex-Ex-Mayor to travel separately together to CasinoPalooza. Sis wanted to stop for lunch at a Lee's Chicken about 2 hours into our 5-hour journey. We've stopped there before. It's in Genius's college town. The parking lot was full with the lunch rush, but Hick nosed A-Cad into an almost-parking-space at the very end of the row, next to a fire rescue truck. Sis and XXM were left to circle the building and find their own almost-parking-space in a spot where the parking lines had been painted over black. She told me this later. We had no visual contact with them.

I slid out of A-Cad, trying to hurry my stiffened knees so Hick and The Pony would not run off from me. They do this by walking at a normal pace, thinking I am behind them. I turned toward the building, which was behind us, and gave A-Cad's door a hefty pull to close it against the force of gravity, since we were pointing down a slight hill.

YOUCH!!!

My left leg didn't move fast enough. The pointy metal corner at the bottom of A-Cad's door hit the fleshy part of my calf. It hurt like the dickens.

"I just closed the door on my leg. I think I might be hurt. It feels like something dripping down."

Hick and The Pony had been waiting at A-Cad's rear. The Pony ran around and got behind me to take a look. 

"Um. This is not good. Your pants leg is soaked with blood, and it's pouring out."

Hick moved a little faster to get a look. He hurried to open the hatch. "Here, Pony. Here's some wipes. You can bend down better than me. Wipe it off so we can see how bad it is."

"I think I can get my pants leg up, but you'll have to pull on it."

The Pony shimmied the pants leg up, and again said, "This is not good." He wiped and wiped. "Blood keeps pouring out. I can't stop it. I think you need a doctor."

"We can go to an urgent care."

"I'm not going to an urgent care. I have some of those big bandaids in my suitcase."

"Mom. I think you'll need more than that..."

Hick got out the bandaids. The Pony wiped and slapped two of the 2x4 inch bandaids over the wound. We all gathered at A-Cad's rear to wash the blood off our hands.

"I don't really want to go in like this, with blood all down my pants leg."

"Your sister is waiting for us. We'll go in. Does it hurt?"

"Not as bad as you might think."

"Maybe people won't notice, Mom, if they don't look at your leg."

So we went in and ordered. Pony had some hot spicy chicken strips, Hick had a 3-piece dinner, and I had the chicken livers and slaw. Which I'd planned on, even before I knew I'd need the iron to replace the massive blood loss from my leg wound! Sis was sympathetic, but didn't act like it was a big deal. "We could see you out the door. I said, 'It looks like they're standing in the parking lot washing their hands.'" They were willing to wait for me to find an urgent care, but I was having none of that.

"I have pants in the car, but I couldn't exactly change in the parking lot. I could have Pony go get them, and I can change in the bathroom here. It's by the door."

"I don't think you should change yet, Mom. Just in case."

"Yeah. We'll stop by a Walmart, and Pony can go in and get some gauze bandages and that sticky tape stuff. We'll get it wrapped up at the rest area, and you can change there."

With that plan, Sis and XXM went on their merry way, to stop for some sight-seeing of a Bonnie and Clyde apartment in Joplin, MO, and then to meet up with us at Downstream Casino. I didn't realize that the rest area was 90 minutes away! I thought it was just south of town. Anyhoo... The Pony bought medical supplies, with the purpose being to re-clean my leg, apply triple antibiotic ointment, slap on two big bandaids, cover them with two 4x6 inch gauze pads, and wrap the whole area with the stretchy stuff they use to hold on your gauze pad after a blood draw.

"How am I going to do this? In the handicap stall? I can't even see it! It's on the back of my leg. Pony can't go in there with me!"

"You two go in the Family Restroom."

"I'll have to take off my pants! They won't fit down over all the bandaging."

"You have on a long shirt. I'm assuming you are wearing underwear! The Pony isn't going to see anything. He'll be working on your leg. You can go to the bathroom before he comes in."

So that's how it went. I leaned on the sink, and rinsed out the leg of my pants while The Pony cleaned up my leg and put on the bandages. Poor Pony. He doesn't do well with blood. But he's more nimble than Hick for working from the floor. He actually did a good job of covering up the wound. 

It took forever to rinse that blood out of my pants leg. I swear I lost half a cup of blood. It took a long time for the water to run clear. Then I had to rinse and wipe out the sink. It looked like a crime scene! While we were inside, somebody knocked on the door! "There's someone in here!" I hollered. My heart was racing like I had committed an actual crime.

We stretched my former pants across the suitcases, so the leg could dry out in the sun. Which promptly went behind the clouds. In hindsight, I would have rolled up that leg in the car window, and let it flap to dry!

 

And thus ends ACT I of our CasinoPalooza Dramedy...

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Emergency At a Non-Gas-Station Chicken Store

The Hotel Refuses to Give Val the Boot

Did Hick Make a Payoff to Try to Kill Val?

Sis Tries Her Casino Restaurant BBQ Sauce Tactic Again [with food photos]

An Emo Guy Almost Lames The Pony [with food photos]

Sis Should Be Careful What She Asks For [with food photos]

Val's Pulsating Weirdo Magnet

Hick, the Law-Abiding Stickler