Nice Guy

OK, why is everybody picking on me?

Part one of a two part story:

Is it just me, or perhaps you might have noticed this as well. Why is it nice guys have bad things happen to them?

I'm probably one of the nicest guys I know, and something bad always happens to me.

Case in point - the Mrs. (Vic), the dog (Zoe') and I decided to take a little excursion to Reno to see the boys. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong!

I decide I will do a phone day for work Friday so we load up the car Thursday afternoon with our night's stay scheduled for Bishop, California.

It is a longer drive but, what the heck, be spontaneous. Spontaneous I am, but traveling with a dog I am smart enough to call ahead and make reservations at a motel as we will be arriving, as they call it, late.

So off we go on Dave, Vicki and Zoe's great adventure.

For the most part the trip was uneventful with a few exceptions, one of which was the truck driver who stopped in the road at Lathrop Wells to figure out how to make a right turn to get to the Cat House.

Back up to speed we get to the Lida Junction turnoff to head to Bishop. At this intersection is the famous Cottontail Ranch.

Zoe' comes to attention because she expects there to be rabbits there but I have to explain to her there are no rabbits there as it is a Cat House, which excites her as well because she likes to chase cats.

She wasn't happy with the whole explanation to say the least!

The road from the junction to Bishop is like time stood still. By that I mean when roads were built for Model T's they were about the equivalent of one and a half lanes by today's standard.

That equates to a narrow road which, by the way, has a pass you wind through that at one point becomes a narrow one lane road at a blind curve. It is, however, a pretty drive!

Our next encounter would be something out of a movie. We are cruising along the small two lane road just as the sun was setting, when from a cloud of dust just ahead, the road was filled with a herd of cattle completely engulfing the road and obviously headed for the feed troth.

Vic exclaims "who is herding those cows and why don't they keep them outta the road?" "That is the funniest thing I have ever seen!"

Well, I said no one is herding them, it is not funny as they don't care we are driving down the road and they must think they own it. So I flash my lights, honk my horn and they just keep on heading toward us. Finally, being the nice guy I am, I stop and let them pass.

From there we proceed on to our next encounter. We arrive in Bishop with the help of my nifty guidance system at 8:30 P.M. We pull right up to the motel we had made reservations at for the night.

I walk into the office with a big smile on my face and tell the young lady working behind the counter that not only had we arrived but we have reservations for the night which she said was good because they were booked.

"That's why I called," I said. There was a deafening silence for a few minutes when she looked up at me and said, "You don't have a reservation for tonight!"

Over the years I have learned to be very calm about these types of things and in my nicest voice I said "What do you mean I don't have a reservation. I made it 4&1/2 half hours ago and I have a confirmation number! And I have a dog too!!!"

In her pleasant voice she replied, "Your reservation is for May 4th, not April 5th." At this point I pause and am thinking I have to find a room somewhere in that town because even though Vic and I could sleep in the car, Zoe' expects a bed.

Of course I am not at all upset and would never raise my voice, but before I uttered another word she said, "Oh, I think I know what happened. It should have been for 4-5-07 and he transposed that to 5-4-07. But don't you worry, I have a special room that you will really like."

I said you know I have a dog to which she responds, "She will like the room too." She was right, it was a great room, but at my age it is not good for the heart to have to consider Zoe' not having a bed to sleep in.

From there the next morning we are off to Reno along a scenic route


and Zoe' gets in a little snow play as well.


We are cruising along in California on a divided highway with a posted speed limit of 65 miles an hour, which as you all know is like walking, but I know I must behave so I am running a casual 70 when I pass a Highway Patrol car parked alongside the road with red lights on.

Not the normal on the roof lights, the ones on the spot lights, grill and inside on the rear deck.

At this point I would like to tell you all that a red vehicle to a Highway Patrol Officer is like a red cape is to a bull, they feel they have to chase it!

Unlike some drivers, I do pay attention to the rear view mirror and what do I see behind me at some distance but a speeding car in the left lane.

That is an old ploy where they get in the left lane and go fast so you just think it is someone going fast in the fast lane. That combined with the fact he had a white roof and dark body car gave me a hint so when he got to me I was doing 67.

The speed limit is 65 but you never want to do the exact speed or they will figure you are smarter than them.

The rest of the trip into Reno was almost uneventful with the exception of the guy driving slow in the left lane that thought it cute to put on his brakes and force me into a defensive driving maneuver to avoid hitting him.

I pulled along side of him and requested we pull over together so I could politely explain to him why that stunt could get him killed by a not so easy-going driver such as me, but he declined.

It was unfortunate he would not pull over and learn the correct way to move to the right lane as someday someone else might not be as nice as I am.

Now we are at the boys' house and it is time for Vic to go into her Mom mode.

Off we go to the store for the fixens for dinner that night. She is leaving the heavy shopping for Saturday.

Saturday morning the greeter at Sam's Cub asked Vic where she had been, stating sales had been noticeably down since her last visit to Reno.

The greeter gives Vic a basket to which Vic responds with a thank you and can we please have two.

That was just for the heavy stuff as we had to stop at a regular supermarket for the additional items not purchased at Sam's Club.

As we pulled out of Reno on Sunday, Vic had great pride knowing the boys' pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator were well stocked.

A Mom's job well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's it for today, please join me tomorrow for part two.