Oh my word! Oscar the Grouch has a sister and I met her yesterday at my book signing. There were numerous booths set up outside in a parking lot for a community event followed by a car show in the same parking lot. The place was hopping from dawn til dusk. There was a dog costume contest by the pet resort which made my day. There was a pudgy Beagle with a pink bathrobe and pink foam curlers… and a Chihuahua with a Rastafarian hat with dreadlocks attached. I don’t think the dog could see a thing. I smile every time I think of it.
Back to Oscar’s twin sister, let’s call her Grouchy. First Grouchy was whining about how hot it was…. well, it was over 90, but this is Arizona. What do you expect? And we were all hot, but she was the only whiner. Following the weather whining, a cute little girl came near Grouchy to write her name on a give-a-way card. This totally annoyed Grouchy and she told the little girl to move. What in the world??
Around 3:30 (height of hotness) the classic cars started rolling in for the show. I made a comment about how cool they were and Grouchy proceeded to tell me that her first husband loved old cars and that’s all she ever drove when she was married to him and they are unreliable and how she hated them and she won’t drive them anymore at all. Yes, in one breath. What do you say to that? “Wow! I bet he’s glad you’re not driving his old cars any more!” I just hummed and hawed.
As the hot dog stand was setting up next to us and the loud engines continued to roar into the lot, the 1940s and 50s music started blaring from a portable sound system. It was PERFECT for the car show. It was a bit loud, but still, old ladies usually don’t come to car shows. Needless to say, guess what kind of music Grouchy hated the first time it came out? AND she can’t figure out why people like it the second time around.
All that to say, I spent a mere three hours with Grouchy and that was about all I could take. I think it’s one of the Seven Laws of Successful People, or from All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, or How to Win Friends and Influence People …. but it is so true for your mental health: Surround yourself with positive people.
Tags: All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, author, beagle, big band, book signing, car show, chihuahua, classic cars, hot dog, hot dog stand, How to Win Friends and Influence People, mom, Oscar the Grouch, pet resort, Seven Laws of Successful People
My Sister's Jar 
October 22, 2008 at 9:25 am |
Bless your heart for enduring the time spent with Oscar’s sister. Maybe being around her will have planted some positive seeds in her heart.