Sunday, June 4, 2023

When The Sheriff's Department Calls And You've Barely Had Your Coffee


Well, I just about had a heart attack this morning. I hadn't been up very long and therefore had not turned my phone's ringer back on and I noticed, a little after nine, that I'd missed a call that was ID'ed as coming from Apalachicola, but not a number I recognized. Apalach is not one of the regular spam call origins and since Mr. Moon is down in that county, I decided I better call it back and I did and a lady answered and I told her who I was and she identified herself as a Franklin County deputy and asked me, "Do you know a Curtis Moon?" 
HOLY FUCK! "Curtis" is actually Glen's real first name. The only time it's ever used is in a legal situation where the person does not really know him. And a DEPUTY was asking me if I knew him? 
"Yes! That's my husband!" I said, and my heart about stopped and I thought Oh my god, he's dead, or maybe he's in a hospital or maybe he's in...jail? 
Amazing how many dire situations the brain can go to in the shortest amount of time. Probably not even two seconds, in this case. 
"What's happened?" I asked Deputy Debbie. I was frantic. 
"Well, we got a call from the Lanark store that his truck and boat trailer have been parked there for a few days and we were just making sure that there's not been an unreported accident."

And my heart started beating again and I began babbling something about how no, no, he was fine, just on Dog Island where we have a house and he and a friend had put in on Friday evening and yes, they were fine, they were lovely, all was well, thank you for calling, etc. 

The boat launch in Lanark, Florida, is right across from Dog Island. Shortest distance from land to dock. There's a little store there and a payment box where you can leave your money when you launch and there's a parking lot where you can leave your vehicle and trailer, which Mr. Moon had done and he'd included a note to the guy who runs the store whom he knows, so he had followed the rules and thought he'd covered all his bases. I guess the store guy hasn't checked his payment box for a few days. Anyway, he got concerned and called the Franklin County Sheriff's department and they got his details from his trailer registration which is how they found me which is rather odd, I think. I'm sure they tried to call his phone first and when nobody answered, they got concerned. 
Deputy Debbie (I can't remember her last name) kept explaining why she'd called and I kept telling her thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for checking and doing my own explaining and finally I guess we were both tired of the conversation and were pretty sure our individual messages had been received and we hung up. 

After I got some semblance of composure back, I called Chip's phone and Glen answered it. The guys were as happy as could be, eating their cereal and getting ready to put in another day of work and I told them the story about Deputy Debbie's call and they just laughed and said they were sorry I'd had that shock, but damn- if they had been in a boat accident they'd still be out in the gulf paddling around wondering if anyone was ever going to come rescue them. This is true but hopefully, I would have known to report their asses if I hadn't heard from them since Friday. Then Glen told me about getting the truck stuck in the sand of the driveway of the house where it enters the "road" because the 4-Wheel drive on the truck isn't working and he'd had to call the island manager (yes, there is one) to come tow him out with the tractor he uses to maintain the roads and that guy, when he showed up, said, "Who's the asshole who did this?" and Glen admitted that he was indeed the asshole and got a small lecture on needing 4-Wheel drive which Glen thought he had and there you go, folks- that's life on Dog Island. Never easy and you have to roll with the punches and laugh while you're doing it. 

So that was that and the rest of my day was a breeze after I recovered from my near cardiac event. I picked some more green beans and cucumbers and cut and trimmed some bamboo to make stakes for the tomatoes I started from the seeds of the Sugar Bomb cherry tomatoes. They've gotten big enough to need tying up and also have started to bloom and I staked a few peppers that are so heavy with peppers that they're falling over too. I spent some time looking online for a house to rent in North Carolina when we go up next month. Jessie and Vergil are leaving Thursday night which is way, way, sooner than I thought for some reason (denial) and we need to get our plan squared away. 

It's rained on and off today which has kept things relatively cool. In between quick rain storms, the sun has come out and it's truly been a beautiful day. 

I'll probably make a few more pints of pickled green beans tomorrow and if the cucumbers keep coming, I'll get a few pints of those made this week too. When I cut that first cucumber the other day, the smell of it just rocked me right back to the summers when I was so very young, the mother of two little ones, learning to make pickles from The Joy of Cooking cookbook. I think back on those days when I had no AC and the canning kettle boiled all day long in my kitchen as I tried to use every one of the cukes we were getting from our garden. One summer I put up over a hundred pints of pickles. Dills, sweet, bread and butter, mustard. How in the world did I do it all? I took care of my children and and two dogs and a big garden and my house, all mostly on my own. I sewed and I crocheted and I embroidered and I made my own yogurt and I had a big friend circle and I helped at home births and I read like a maniac and I ran two miles every day and I also took care of a little girl who's mama was a friend of mine who worked at the Monticello library, all the time near starving myself so I would be the beautiful skinny woman that I was sure my husband wanted me to be.

No wonder I'm tired all the time. 

I think about how depressed I was in those days when I barely gave myself time to think, in fact, tried NOT to think, even though looking back I remember some of the most beautiful moments and I have such an admiration for that Mary and I wish I could hold her in my arms and say, "It's okay, honey. You're doing good." 

And then I'd probably tell her a few more things, mostly about men, but of course I can't and it's all worked out okay, mostly and in some ways, far better than I could ever have dreamed. 

It is quite peaceful here this evening and my man is fine and has not drowned at sea and my babies are all safe and their babies are all safe and I still use pickle recipes from The Joy of Cooking and here is a picture of Maurice from a few minutes ago, looking out at the trees whose leaves are fluttering in the breeze, and the birds who are singing their getting-ready-for bed songs, and the squirrels who are so endlessly entertaining for us all as they skitter and leap in their tree universe. 


Love...Ms. Moon

39 comments:

  1. Maurice is a beautiful ginger girl ... Too bad she can be such a bitch at times!
    Thank goodness your Glen is OK.
    Here I am, heading towards 80 come August, and this morning I made my first ever batch of refrigerator pickles! Just a very simple brine recipe and I used a bit more sugar then it called for and, this evening I tried some and ... damn ... they actually taste pretty good! Definitely edible!! 😊

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    1. Refrigerator pickles can be amazing! Hurray for you!

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  2. Ack! That would have been quite a thing to deal with before coffee. But it is also reassuring that that was investigated, isn't it?

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    1. Yes. Exactly. And I told Deputy Debbie that several times.

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  3. Good heavens what a scare you had......NOT a good way to start a day........but so glad to hear all is well and that people are looking out for your beloved. Cripes! After that......doing anything today would be a breeze! Pickles, beans.....even a goring from dear Maurice might be welcomed after that fright. I think another Martini might be in store for you tonight.......or.....I'll have an extra glass of wine for you!
    Hugs
    Susan M

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    1. Girl- I am indeed having a martini. Phew!

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  4. That was a heart stopping beginning to the morning. Of course we're all pleased it turned out OK in the end. Your closing paragraph made me wish to be on a screened porch, listening to the breeze and watching the wildlife.

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    1. Joanne- I was so scared. SO scared. But it did not last long.
      I am so in love with my back porch. How lucky I am.

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  5. 37paddington: my heart stopped, reading this, and then I exhaled, deliriously happy that everyone is ok. Your summer vacation on the mountain is becoming a cherished tradition. I love how our children bring us along in the new lives they make with partners. I’m glad you’re well, and that you had time with Lis, definitely your soulmate. I do believe we can have several soulmates. If we’re very lucky, we find them.

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    1. Yes. Soulmates can come in so many different forms and ways. You are one of mine. And I am so grateful for that.

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  6. Glad it was a false alarm and all is well. In a way it's good that someone is paying attention just in case someone might be in crisis or missing. But, yeah, that kind of call would cause instant Panic.

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    1. It is good that someone is paying attention. I agree.

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  7. Wow, my heart was beating fast on this post. Glad everything turned out better than okay!

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  8. I hate it when the shit hits the fan before that first cup of coffee. Such is life.
    Thankfully everything is OK. Slow, deep breaths. I just happened to be in an antique mall today and saw "The Joy of Cooking" book. I was tempted to pick it up and give a look-see. I'm aware it's been around forever. I'm not really one to follow recipes but have often read a cookbook like a novel. Glad everything turned out OK today. Wow...when you were young you really had your plate full. That was amazing how much you accomplished. Enjoy that martini. Two might do the trick!
    Paranormal John

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    1. I'm not always a big recipe user either but the Joy of Cooking has excellent recipes for the basics and then up from there. And it is dependable! I know that most of us get recipes online now and that's fine but sometimes, those recipes just suck. Joy of Cooking is time tested. Also- no stupid freaking backstory on every detail and ingredient in a recipe.

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  9. Well no wonder you were tired as a young woman, doing all that. I was the same, except for the running, and I was chronically tired and my husband chronically out of town (he was a pilot).

    I'm glad Mr. Moon is not dead or drowned. What a scary phone call to get.

    Hope you guys have a wonderful holiday with your daughter and her family.

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    1. Thanks, Pixie! I think we will indeed have a wonderful time in NC. I found us a place on a creek!
      I"m sure you were working when you were a young mom too. I wasn't. I don't know how women do that. I did go to nursing school though when I had kids.

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  10. ACK!!! WHEW!!!!!

    Chris from Boise

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  11. What a rollercoaster of a call. Of course, this would be when Mr M had drowned his phone. No wonder they were alarmed. I'm glad it all turned out to be nothing in the end.

    And that you got to remembering all the work you did back then. I think you're on a better track now.

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    1. I wonder if the first thing Glen does when he gets home is to go get a new phone. I bet it is.

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  12. I don't know how I did it all in those days too. 12 hour work days (including the commute), 2 kids, a drunken violent husband and I still cooked, cleaned, paid the bills - because somebody had too right. I know I was younger then but damn, did we more than pull our weight! Oh, and I hope your heart has settled down again now after that call!

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    1. Now see- I have NO idea how you did that.

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  13. What a scary moment with that phone call! I'm quite used to having police come to my door, they're usually looking my my (black sheep) son and I remind them every time that I don't know where he lives because he never tells me and moves around a lot. I like you memories of earlier times even though it was hard going, it helped you become the Mary that you are now.

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    1. Oh hell- I would hate having police come to my door and I am sorry that your son gives you so much grief. That can't be easy.

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  14. Phew! And so happy that it was a false alarm and that the rest of your day was filled wih quiet joy.

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  15. Oh my goodness, you scared me there! I am so glad it was nothing at all but my heart was almost pounding, Mary.
    I was just talking to my oldest son yesterday about how did I ever take care of 5 children and the house and everything. We had 4 of my grandkids visiting over the weekend and I was WORN OUT! So we were laughing about that!

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    1. Every time I'm around my grandchildren for an extended period I just keep muttering, "I'm too old for this. I'm too old for this."

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  16. yeah, not a good way to start the day. and Curtis? is Glenn his middle name? I go by my middle name too and let me tell you when I initially filled out the government form for FEMA after the flood I filled it in with my real first name and it caused no end of trouble because they kept rejecting me because that name was not on any of the documentation that proved who I was. I did finally get it straightened out though but let me tell you it was. a. pain. in. the. butt!

    our young selves did so much! looking back it's a wonder but you know, we just got up every day, got the kids off to school, (in my case) ran my studio (presentations, art work, fabrication, cold calling for new clients, etc), did the holidays, fixed dinners, helped the kids with schoolwork, somehow kept the house mostly decent, and then collapse in bed to start over the next day. I have to say, I'm glad to be done with those days.

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    1. Actually, his middle name is Glinden! How crazy is that? And yes, things can get very confusing when you have one name that's "legal" and one that you actually go by.
      I'm glad to be done with those days too, Ellen. I absolutely could not begin to do it all at this age.

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    2. I usually fill in forms with my full name and then in brackets the shortened form I go by.

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  17. Well, I can see how that would give you a scare! At least you know the guy who keeps the store is looking out for people who park at the boat ramp, which is a nice reassurance.

    And then to hear Glen got stuck and DID need rescuing, of a sort! Funny how the world works.

    I can't believe all the things I used to do when I was younger, and I never even tried to raise a child, much less four of them!

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    1. There is no doubt that we all had more energy when we were younger.
      It is funny that Glen got stuck but luckily, that wasn't life-threatening.

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  18. I wonder if Deputy Debbie's surname is Dawg?

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  19. Christ on a cracker I’d have a heart attack too! Glad all is well.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.