Really, I'm Fine, Go Away

I spent yesterday morning out at the Ford dealership getting an oil change and 60K maintenance. I've spent many such mornings at this dealer and have learned to go prepared. I've sometimes spread my genealogy all over the floor of the waiting room and worked on getting organized. I've done crossword puzzles, read books and knitted. A couple of years ago I hit upon the perfect way to pass the time. I take my personal DVD-player.

This is truly the perfect solution for the waiting room. A simple oil change takes almost an hour - just the right time to watch an episode from one of my boxed sets of vintage television shows. An oil change and additional maintenance will take 2-3 hours, perfect for a movie. Yesterday I made myself comfortable in the corner of the waiting room with The Pirates of the Caribbean 2, a movie I received for Christmas and had never had the opportunity to sit down and watch closely enough to be able to figure out what was going on. I had my travel mug loaded with Starbuck's coffee and settled down, perfectly content.

I usually don't have company in the waiting room, but yesterday there was a crowd. Two older gentlemen were having a lively conversation about something completely forgettable, another even older man happened in awhile later, and another woman joined us a little later after that. Everyone seemed to be fascinated at what I was up to. Mind you, I was sitting quietly in the corner minding my own business.

At some point, all of the men seemed to need to get up and walk around the room and happen close enough to me to check out what had my attention. Of course each one of them had to comment "that's neat" or some such remark that required me to unplug my earphone and inquire "Pardon?". One offered to bring me a cup of coffee and seemed disappointed when I indicated that I had already taken care of that matter.

The first two men eventually departed and the remaining fellow couldn't resist. He had to come over and start talking to me. So I put the movie on pause and unplugged and listened to him regale me with how rough his life was as a school bus driver and how he doesn't even own a vcr or dvd player. He finally ran down and I went back to my movie.

Things went fine from there except when along came a spot in the movie where Johnny Depp did something that hit my funny bone and I reflexively snorted. Everyone in the room turned my direction. I said "excuse me" and ducked down lower in my chair, trying to look invisible.

The nice thing is that I was still engrossed in my movie when they came to tell me they were done with my car. Fastest way I know to pass the time when you're stuck without wheels. Sure beats watching the hideous talk show they had going on the waiting room tv. I may start dragging the thing along with me for those interminable hours in the doctor's waiting room. And the bonus is that it drives everybody else crazy with envy that they didn't think of it, too.

LSW