Sadly, it's the most action I've seen in a while

"You know I had to walk 30 blocks to GET to the gym last night."

"I know. I KNOW I should walk to work. I know this."

But I don't. I live maybe half a mile from my office, but I still drive to work every day. L has moved to New York after nearly a decade in D.C. and has laughed at me since her first visit to Mayberry for not walking to work.

My battery was dead yesterday, so after hitching a ride to the office, I walked home to meet the guy that AAA sent to jump me off. Naturally, I texted L on the way home to let her know I was walking--even if it was only because I had a dead battery.

The wrecker service called when I was about a block and a half from home and said that driver was waiting for me. As I walked down my driveway, I saw a 60ish, white haired man waiting at the bottom. I'm 33 and no super model, but it would probably be clear to most people that we were not a match made in heaven.

Not so clear to ole Jimmy.

"I hate to see a beautiful woman like you walking."

Why? I thought. Instead I replied, "It's not a problem. I work downtown, so it wasn't far." I popped the hood for him and he starts looking for the battery.

What kind of work do you do?

I'm an attorney, but don't hold it against me.

Well, if I'm not being too forward, are you single?

Yes, I'm single.

I don't know where the battrey (sic) is in this thing. I swear. Some of these newfangled cars. . .Do you like country music?

Yes, I like some country music. My sister lives in Nashville so I'm kind of forced to like it. (Why I didn't just stick with a one word answer, I'll never know.)

Ever heard of the Bellamy brothers?

Yes.

Have you heard that song "If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?" That's what you reminded me of just now.

Now, I have decent hair. Sometimes, my eyes are OK. My fingernails have always been a big bonus. But my body? People, NEVER have I been accused of having a beautiful body and rightfully so.

Well, what do you like to do for fun?

I stall while thinking, what in the world do I tell him?

Travel.

Well, what do you like to do for fun around here?

Travel.

OK, I'll shut up.

And he still hasn't found the blasted battery. He asks to look in the trunk (I drive an SUV) so I opened the back for him. I tell him I'm pretty sure that the only thing back there is the spare tire and he asks for the owner's manual. I give it to him and then go inside to get my dog to let her out.

I have an 80 pound Weimaraner, and she was worth her weight in gold when she came down those steps barking to beat the band. She went right for him, but I managed to hold her back. He was sitting on the back of the car reading the manual, so we went into the back yard. She then refused to come back--I guess she wasn't feeling Jimmy's vibe either.

As he continues to search for the battery ("This ain't one of them hybrids is it?") he asks if I like racing. NO. I take Etta back inside and call my dad to fill him in while I'm in there.

Finally, upon my return, he thinks he has located the battery and proceeds to hook up his little tester. He thinks. He tells me to try to crank it to see if it will turn over at all. Blessedly, it cranks right up.

Old Jimmy goes in for the kill at this point. He tells me that he enjoys going to the dirt track races and singing karaoke at the VFW and if I should ever find myself wanting to go out and do something, I should call him.

He's pulling out his card and checking my AAA card at this point.

Have you ever heard of Alan Jackson?

Yes.

He's my cousin. Doug Stone, too. But I've got the most famous name of all.

He turns his card around to reveal his name handwritten on the back: Jimmy Hendrix.

As I pull out of the driveway to head to the auto parts store down the street, I leave L a message:

Let me just tell you what happens when you call AAA to jump you off in Mayberry. They send out a white haired Jimmy Hendrix who enjoys dirt track racing and singing karaoke at the VFW and who is so busy asking you out that he can't find the blasted battery in your car!

Of course the people downstairs in the embroidery/silkscreen shop couldn't set fire to their equipment during one of our frequent 70 degree days so that I could at least open my window. Nor could they do a good enough job on the fire to force us to evacuate the building. Instead, we're stuck with the stench of an electrical fire for the remainder of the afternoon. UGH.

Dance

My mom and my sister got me this apron for Christmas. Every time I put it on, my nephew would say, "Dance, Sissy." So we danced.

Year End Wrap Up

I spent December singing, traveling, taking antibiotics and cooking. I was supposed to start the month off with a visit to Orlando for the opening of Ginger. Instead, I spent the weekend on the sofa trying to fight off the snot of death.

The next weekend was the marathon church music weekend, and I spent all weekend singing. The next week is when the real fun began.

I flew out of Atlanta on Thursday to meet my sister and nephew in New York--or "Yew York City!" as Will would say. He was an absolute trooper, and I remain amazed at how well a 2 year old lasted in the city. Highlights included:

• Having him run up to me when I walked in the hotel. Made my 20 minute wait for a cab outside of Penn Station in the rain worth it.
• Seeing one of my sister's best friends growing up in the lobby of our hotel. Our hometown only has 30,000 residents and we ran into one of our favorite people in the lobby of the largest hotel in New York.
• The great service we had at dinner our first night--and the delicious tiramisu.
• Just taking a minute to absorb the fact that I was standing at Rockefeller Center watching the ice skaters with my nephew two weeks before Christmas and enjoying his excitement.
• Realizing how empathetic he is after we continued to ask me about the lady we saw fall all day long.
• Watching Will climb right up on Santa's lap and continue to ask him for a "twee."
• Having him ask me over and over again "Sissy, what happen to my nose?" It was so cold, his nose was numb.
• After I taught him how to hail a cab, he would periodically hold both bemittened hands up and say, "I need taxi car."
• All the crazy looks we got (even in New York) while transporting him in the backpack.
• Truffled Egg Toast
• Meeting the very nice lady on the Staten Island Ferry who then taught us how to take the bus instead of the subway.
• Babbo
• Having Will charm everyone on the elevator at Top of the Rock; hearing them all say, "aw" when he walked into the glass barrier once we got off the elevator--while I died laughing.
• Having him ask to go "ni-ni with my Sissy" every night we were there.
• After a long day of going, going, going asking him if he wanted to go night-night. "No." Do you want to go to a museum? "No." What do you want to do? "I wanna pway." So, we got out and "pwayed" in Central Park.

It was a great trip. I would post some pictures, but my sister won't e-mail them to me.

After that, I wrapped up at work and then headed to Nashville for the holiday. We were all together for 4 days, and my grandparents continue to be troopers. Especially my grandmother. She's a little frightened of escalators these days, but she still managed to recover after initiating a ride by doing the splits. She's pretty phenomenal.

"We" cooked breakfast for a shelter Christmas Eve morning. I ended up cooking two casseroles to simplify things. Once Will is a little older, this will be even more meaningful.

The first words out of his mouth Christmas morning were, "Thank you, Santa Claus." It doesn't get much better than that.

Unfortunately, in addition to my beautiful new luggage (the green one), I came home with strep throat. Just like the good ole days. Luckily, I haven't celebrated New Year's in several years, so the strep didn't really put a damper on my plans. I felt well enough to enjoy some champagne and sushi at home. I didn't really make any resolutions, just trying to be more mindful of lots of things in my life. And to turn off the TV and computer a little more.

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