Ma Bell Makes House Calls

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If there are two things we can’t avoid right now, they are the bad economy and technology. I don’t think I really need to go on about the economy; however, it has me using coupons religiously at the grocery store, only getting a pedicure every now and then, and vetoing trips to Sephora unless a gift card is somehow involved. And, as I approach almost a year of joblessness, it has me thinking of all the ways I can creatively save money.

As I said in a previous post, I can’t believe how much Nathan and his friends communicate through text messages rather than by speaking to each other on the phone. It’s gotten so easy to talk to people without really talking to them. And, in some ways, it’s kind of sad. Though, I would be guilty of not using the phone enough and relying on these alternate forms of communication.

Today, I decided to make this “Back to the Future” Friday. I was going to be frugal and old-fashioned, where a year ago, I was not. Well, I was old-fashioned then where my wardrobe was concerned and always will be!

One of my dear friends, Suzebabe, the Goddess of All Things Babely, has been suffering from a back problem for over a week now. I couldn’t imagine the pain she was in. (Well, I could second-hand, because Marcia had just gone through a similar painful ordear.) When I “talked” to Suze via text message and email, she sounded most miserable. I really wanted to do something special for her, something unexpected and unique.

A year ago, I probably would have gone online, picked out a bouquet, and then clicked “Complete Order.” $9.99 for shipping? Oh, who cares? And upon reflection today, I thought, “Jeez. How uncreative is that?! And, $9.99 for shipping?!?!” Just then, I climbed into the Wayback machine. (By the way, if you’re like me and only go into Boston every now and then, the Wayback machine takes those Charlie cards, which would have otherwise expired way before you ever got a chance to return to Boston!)

It was 1983, and I was a junior at Brandeis. After a night at the Stein and one too many Southern Comfort Sours pre-Stein, I was puking under the statue of Louis Brandeis. Oops. I meant to go a little further back than that!

I had this sweetheart of a boyfriend all through college. His name was Robert Caputo. (I’m mentioning his name in case he ever googles himself!) He graduated three years before me, so he often came to visit me at school. Sometimes, he’d show up unexpectedly and do this thing to me. Um, no, nothing like what you're probably thinking now!

So, today, I thought, “I’m going to do that thing to Suze.” I went and bought some flowers at the local florist. (Okay, okay, I bought orchids for me, too!) And when I got Iz off the bus, I asked, “Hey, want to go see Auntie Suze? She’s not feeling well.” Iz said she did and off we went. Yes. I didn’t call. Remember, I said unexpected. Unexpected good things are very cool unlike unexpected bad things.

We drove the 20 minutes over to Suze’s. I saw her daughter’s car in the driveway, and I just hoped Suze was there, though given she was immobile to some degree, 355 degrees I gathered, I thought the chances were pretty good she was resting on a couch somewhere. I grabbed the flowers, and Iz and I hopped out of the car.

We rang the doorbell, and I said to Iz, “I so hope she’s here. Maybe just Katie is home.” Iz said, “No! I see her coming!” She opened the door and looked surprised to see us. After all, it was unexpected!

I handed her the flowers, and then I remembered I left something very important in the car. I shrieked, “Wait, wait! I forgot something!” I ran back to the car to grab what I needed.

When I arrived back at the door, I said, “Open your hand.” She did. Then I dropped a dime onto the palm of her hand. I said, “This is a personal phone call.”

Clicking “Send” and being distant in the form of a text message or an email are easy to do unfortunately; however, sometimes being there is so much better. Thank you, Economy, for reminding me on a daily basis what is most important about this life. Strange but true, I love you. ♥

Suzebabe, I hope you're hang gliding, cliff diving, fishing for Alaskan King Crab in the Bering Sea, and running with the bulls in Pamplona soon!