I Told You Never to Call Me on This Zucchini

I love my job! I work with the coolest people and the coolest clients! I work with the senior population, connecting them to the stuff they need to stay independent in their homes. It is an awesome feeling to be able to help people like that..and I have already heard some of the greatest stories! I have met WWII veterans, and a former circus performer (who described how to hang onto a trapeze with your toes), and a monk who lives out in the sticks with his 18 cats, 14 dogs, and a giant wooden cross on his door, and I can't wait to see who I meet next! Some of the clients are definately eccentric, but that just spices things up-as long as they don't shoot at me.

I had one phone conversation with a client that went something like this:

"Hi! Ernest (not his real name)? Can you hear me?"
"Huh?"
"I said can you hear me?"
"What?"
"Ernest, I'm with the local agency on aging. I need to come by to see you."
"Ok."
"Can we set up a time to do that?"
"Huh?"
"I SAID CAN WE SET UP A TIME?"
"ok."
"When would be a good time to come by?"
"ok."
"Umm...Ernest? I need to know a good time to come see you."
"huh?"
"A GOOD TIME...WHAT WOULD WORK FOR YOU?"
"I don't work."
"Could I come by today to see you?"
"ok."
"How about 3 O'clock?"
"ok."
"OK Ernest. I will see you at 3 O'clock."
"I don't work."
"I know Ernest...that's ok. I'll see you at 3."
"Who is this?"
"I'm with the Agency on Aging..."
"ok."
"Alright Ernest. I'll be by at 3."
"Huh?"
"I'LL BE BY AT 3...OK?"
"ok."
(silence)
"Are you my doctor?"


So, at 3 O'Clock I went to Ernest's house and he was not there. I drove back to the agency, only to be told that he had actualy driven all the way down there to meet me.

I felt like crap. He's, like, 90. But, I met him the next day when I just decided to drive there without calling first.

Anyway....

The people in the office are totally neat too. Yes, I said "neat." Shut up! What are you? The cool language police? Huh?

Anyway, we get off on these tangents (shocking, I know), and start talking about very strange things. Especially during lunch time. The gals bring in things from their gardens. One of them brought in some really big zucchini. You can just imagine. One of the zucchini reminded me of a phone, so I picked it up and started talking into it....at least I didn't do something x-rated...I mean, c'mon! It was a zucchini! It was the BIGGEST zucchini I had ever seen!

Huh? Are you my doctor?

I guess I am going tomorrow to meet a woman who has been a pack rat for her entire life, and we are going to have to do the interview OUTSIDE because you can't walk in her house...it is so full of stuff. Apparently not all of it is just memorabilia either. "This is my bread crust from 1947..." type of thing.

One of my co-workers said it is very likely that I will turn out to be an old lady who runs around her house yelling without any underwear. I told her her grandma was really a man.

Yep. We have fun!