NEW CASTLE —
This a story about a day. No particular day.
In fact, it is a day that did not stand out from any other day at the onset. However, it became one of those days that will be eternally engrained in my mind.
To set the stage, I woke early in the morning for one reason and one reason only and that was to go and see the doctor. Not a real doctor, but rather the chiropractor. I had been having terrible pain in my middle to lower back. The kind of pain that brings tears to your eyes at times and has the ability to take your breath away. I had broke down and had my wife make an appointment for me in spite of my lack of insurance coverage.
The morning had greeted me with a soft covering of nearly 2 inches of fresh snow and ice, which ensured my drive would be all the more fun.
I attended the appointment and was wrangled, twisted, contorted and supposedly put back into place. Honestly, I felt no different, just a little lighter in the wallet.
Following the appointment, I figured I would would stop at the good ole’ grocery store to pick up a few things since I was already in town. “A few things” quickly turned into $100 worth of a few things.
While in the store I had the dubious pleasure of crossing paths with the infamous Leaf and was bombarded with his theology, ideas and religion. If you are not familiar with Leaf, he is what we will call a “New Castle native.” He is filled with ideas and “creative” logic that he is willing to share every nuance of. And by share I mean corner you in the entryway of a grocery store and enter into a solo debate about the subtleties of the minor prophets or Old Testament law.
I eventually got home after escaping Leaf's grasp and readied myself for a glorious night at work, which was to begin at 4 p.m.
I drove to work halfheartedly trying to think of a way to make some money at any place that I could work, rather than my miserable job, which like an oxen's yoke hung around my neck on a daily basis.
When I get to work, I punch in and proceed to plant myself in front of the machine that will be my unchanging position for the next eight hours. The first five minutes seem like an hour and the pain in my back is growing more intense. All I can think about is going home and lying down in a nice soft bed.
The stiffness, the sharp pain, the tingling of my shoulders grows increasingly distracting and unbearable. I give it an hour and take some pain pills to no avail.
After another hour passes I decide I have had enough and I’m going home. I convince the He-Man of a woman who is my supervisor that I am basically useless to the company and should go home. She eventuality relents and off I go.
The ride home is pleasant, but frigidly cold. Why is it that you never worry about a heater in your car not working until it’s late at night and it’s around 10 degrees outside? I pop in a CD of some of my newest recordings and listen for all the mistakes as a distraction as I drive the 20 minutes back to the house.
Eventually I pull into the drive and make my way in through the basement and up the cellar steps. There is my wife standing in the kitchen with a big smirky kinda gin on her face and a twinkle in her eye. A twinkle and gleam that I have not seen in her for a long time. She asks, “What are you doing home?” I reply with the whole back story to my day.
With that said she says, “It’s kinda strange that you came home now …”
I returned with, “Why?”
“I just took a pregnancy test and it’s positive!” she said.
Holy cow! I can’t believe it. She is really pregnant! I tried to hold back my joy and happiness, but some how my delight made its way to the surface and is manifested in a great big smile across my face. I'm gonna be a dad!
So there you have it, a humdrum day that turned into one of those days that will be forever ingrained in my memory. Yes, it is permanently etched in my psyche, and now it is in your mind, too.
Isn’t it funny how that works?
Josh Drespling
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About Josh Drespling: Josh is a former graphic designer at The News. His blog appears each Saturday.
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