A Sidenote

I like to keep this blog very focused on eavesdropping and thus don't post any of my short stories, ramblings or any other randomness here. I don't participate in memes for that reason, but I'm deviating from my hard line for these two: the bookworm and the eight things memes. I jump at the chance to tell anyone what books I'm reading and I've found the biography meme to be pretty interesting on other blogs. So, that's that.

First off, the Eight Random Things show begins courtesy of Embee at Musings of a Would-Be Writer:

1. I could live on pizza alone, especially Z Pizza.
2. I fractured my right elbow all to pieces when I tripped while jogging and have enough hardware in it to set off metal detectors. I recovered 80% range of motion after one year of physical therapy.
3. The musician I'd most like to meet is Stevie Nicks. I would love to hang out with her and ask about the meaning behind some of her mysterious lyrics...and also sing Edge of 17 with her.
4. I can karaoke Bette Davis Eyes, Proud Mary (Tina Turner version), Tush and Stop Draggin' My Heart Around like nobody's business. This is according to fan reviews at my karaoke parties.
5. I didn't go to my 20th high school reunion because I'm not married yet.
6. Sarah McLaughlin's ASPCA commercial makes me cry like a baby.
7. I pretend I'm an outlaw when I'm on the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle.
8. I have fibromyalgia. It's brutal, but I'm coping pretty well.

Next, the books. I should warn you I am a bookaholic who reads many books at once in a fairly scatter-brained fashion. Luckily, this meme allows only one book mention:

(1) Grab the nearest book, (2) open the book to page 56, (3) find the fifth sentence, (4) post the text of the next two to five sentences, (5) don’t dig for your favorite book. Pick the closest, and (6) tag five people to do the same.

My closest book is the one I'm reading for pleasure, "The Darkest Evening of the Year" by Dean Koontz. Here's the excerpt:

"Glad to hear it. There's always a way forward, but there's no way back." Janet nodded. Perhaps she understood. Most likely not. To many people, free will is a license to rebel not against what is unjust or hard in life but against what is best for them and true.

Thanks to Page at The Road I'm Traveling for the tag. I'm not going to retag people, but anyone who wants to give it a go from here certainly can.

No Signal

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Writers: Click here for meme instructions.

Readers: This is a weekly meme where readers continue this overheard conversation. After reading this post, please close the window to return to the participant's blog and their own unique ending!

Yesterday afternoon I drove to campus to purchase yet another package of material from the copy center my professor insists we need. I am trolling up and down the aisles in one of the larger parking lots, hoping to find a space amid the sea of parked cars. I carefully squeeze around several vehicles 'squatting' in the aisles. They stand off to one side waiting for someone to leave.

I'm about to maneuver around a squatting white sedan when I see a girl walking towards us. I wait behind the sedan, which has clicked its blinker to the left. The girl enters her car, break lights flash, she pulls out to her left, faces us and begins driving forward, clearing the spot. Suddenly, a yellow Hummer zooms in from the behind her and snatches the spot. The squatter pulls forward abruptly and repeatedly honks his horn. The male Hummer driver has already exited the car:

Squatter: Hey! Hey, asshole! That's my spot!

Hummer: No it ain't. It's mine now.

Squatter: What the hell? I was waiting for it. I was signaling -

Hummer: Shut the hell up you wanker, you little girl. Waaaa! That's my spot! Get back in your goon car and get outta here.

Squatter: You're an ass. You and your ugly car suck, jerk!

The Hummer driver is already walking away. He flips the bird to the squatter without a backward glance. The squatter stands frozen for a second, looks back at me and then back at the Hummer. Suddenly he turns, walks back to his car and retrieves a piece of paper. He walks toward the rear of the Hummer and writes the license plate down.