A Day In The Life Of An Impertinent Cog

Friday is one of my wife's semi-regular (every two weeks or so) days off. Unless there's something scheduled, she'll usually try to get caught up on her rest, due to ongoing medical conditions. This week wasn't any different. As some of you know, we live a second shift schedule. Our “morning” happens around 1PM or so. So “sleeping in” until 4:30 pm on a day off isn't too unusual. Yesterday, that was the plan. Sleep in until late, then go into town, pick up an order at the drugstore and maybe get a bite to eat and stroll the aisles at Wally World awhile.

The best laid of plans came to a screaching halt when my wife's immediate boss called about 4 PM, looking for a coworker that had failed to show at work. No show + no call = no job. Boss lady was worried, so SWMBO* got dressed and we got her check cashed and drove the twenty miles out to her coworker's home. The Sheriff's deputies had arrived moments before we did. They confirmed the worst of our fears. My wife's coworker had passed away. The woman lived alone with her aging pets, who were having none of this home invasion by armed Khakis! Sadly, none of her physicians could be reached; it is off to the medical examiner with her remains before anything else can be done.

So last night wasn't the laid back, fun-filled trip to town it usually would be. We spent a quiet evening at home, each contemplating their own mortality. There were still some tears today and a reluctance to go in to work, but “this too, shall pass.”

* She Who Must Be Obeyed