My mom always said that bad “stuff” came in threes – bad news, bad experiences, bad luck – you know, “stuff.” Sometimes weird stuff comes in threes, too. I know this because we had a really weird day this week.
It started when I decided to ask my husband to go out for dinner after we mowed and gardened all day. He had been given a gift card to Outback Steakhouse over a year ago and I thought this was a good day to use it. That way, we got a free or inexpensive, but good meal. Now Outback isn’t a place we go routinely, but I generally like it.
So, being a good sport, he agreed and I snagged the card from the desk and off we went. As we passed by our gardens, Matt remarked that two of our solar lights weren’t working and perhaps the batteries were bad. Neither of us pondered that for long.
We went to Outback and enjoyed a great loaf of warm bread and two excellent salads. My shrimp was tasty. His sandwich was a bit on the skimpy side – only about a half teaspoon of the “signature sauce” (our waitperson brought more) and the butt-end of a tomato. You know, the last slice with the little tip on the end? We typically give that to our dog, and in fact, the part we give him is quite a bit larger than the quarter-sized “slice” on that sandwich. But…that wasn’t the weird part.
The first weird thing that happened was when I opened my wallet to retrieve the gift card. Matt asked me, “So where did we get that card from?” and I told him from one of his staff persons when he retired. As I pulled the card out, he said, “That was from Texas Roadhouse.” I looked down at the card, and indeed, it was for Texas Roadhouse. Thankfully, I hadn’t actually placed it in the folder to try to pay the bill with it.
As we waited for change, having not had a free or inexpensive meal, I texted our son. He’s been laid up lately and I asked if he wanted anything. He asked for a sandwich from Steak-n-Shake. We drove there next, and got in line. After waiting about three minutes, the voice on the speaker told us it would be “about a fifteen minute wait.” Okay, we love our son, so we decided to wait.
About five minutes later, a young man came out of the back door to tell us (really to yell at us from 30 feet away), that their “system was updating” and it would be – “hopefully” – another ten or fifteen minutes before we could order. Apparently they cannot prepare food when their computers are down. I reasoned that they had never been instructed on the use of antique implements for documentation such as paper and pencil. We drove away and procured food from McDonalds. A sad substitute (though our son consumed it like manna from heaven).
Returning from our two-time weird dinner trip, we walked again toward our garden. Matt suggested we look at the lights and both of us realized, simultaneously, that solar lights do not have batteries that “go bad.” That’s when Matt said, “Did we ever turn them on?”
We grabbed one light each, flipped the little switch and voila! Gardens were lighted!
Weird things do come in threes, but as Matt pointed out, at some point I do get another dinner out – this time at Texas Roadhouse. Perhaps that was my subconscious plan all along (I’ll never tell)!
Susie, your gift card dilemma reminds me of the story a young son of some friends of ours told us awhile back. He had purchased a couple of fast food chicken sandwiches and was looking forward to devouring them. You know teenagers can a eat a whole hog if it’s barbequed right. Upon arriving home, he quickly retrieved a sandwich from the bag, tore it from the wrapper and shoved the sandwich into his mouth. He bit down and started chewing. As the story goes, he chewed… and chewed… and chewed — eventually biting into a hard gristle. That bite went into the garbage and he tossed the remainder of the sandwich back
into the bag. Out the door with said purchased fast food in hand, he heads back to the establishment. He enters the restaurant, threw the bag on the counter and said, “I want my
money back!” He went on and on describing what he had just experienced until he was interrupted with, “Sir, we would gladly refund your money, but you need to take your food across the street where you purchased it.” He said he was so embarrassed, he grabbed the bag, got in his car and went home. He made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Thanks for reminding me, Susie. We have a gift card for Steak-n-Shake we won at a county fair in 2019. I didn’t know they were up and running again. Hopefully, it hasn’t expired. Or do they? When I retired, one of my gifts was a gift card for a large amount to The Springs in Troy. We used it once for a small amount… and boom! They went out of business!
The closest I ever came to dying was in a dentist’s chair. Seriously. After being given a local anesthetic for a simple filling, the next thing I knew three people were trying to restore me to a state of consciousness. Ice packs were being applied, and who knows, maybe they had hauled my butt up from the floor and slapped my face a few times. The chair was reclined back so far my feet were in the air. My heart pounded like a jackhammer! I was sure it would jump out of my chest and plop onto the floor! I struggled hard to breathe. But as you can see I did survive. My dentist passed it off as… “You probably didn’t eat enough for breakfast.” I shot him a nasty look and added a hollow laugh. Yeah, right…
When I got home I called my daughter in Chicago who worked as a dental assistant at the time. I told her what happened to me. She said, “Mom, it was probably epinephrine. You’re allergic to epinephrine.” From that day forward, I would never take any anesthetic for just a filling. It’s just my opinion, but I believe very few people need it.
The other day I was eating my favorite sticky, gummy candy when suddenly and without warning, I felt a foreign object in my mouth. There’s no easy way to say this, but… I spit the contents into a napkin and my worst suspicion was confirmed. Included in the candy was a crown from my tooth. When I showed my husband what just “popped out” of my mouth the first thing he said was, “What were you eating?” I don’t know why, but thankfully, he added, “Food?” With a tad bit of guilt, I answered, “No.”
I do not consider candy a good source of food, and I wasn’t in the mood to hear that candy is loaded with sugar and I shouldn’t be eating it. Also I see no reason to tell him that I have secret stashes of chocolate in a few places. Did you know there is strong evidence that chocolate may prevent heart disease and lower blood pressure? No! I’m serious! You do notice it says, “MAY” prevent. Of course, I eat it sparingly.
June 15 was the day I had my dental appointment to replace the crown. It was June 14 that I read Susie’s Snippets, Things Come in Threes. And then I saw you had written a second one, Godwinks. I had never heard the word Godwinks. I thought, “I’m going to save this one as a treat for after my dental appointment.” Not that I was fearing the work to be done in my mouth, I just like treats!
The morning came and I’m sitting in the dentist’s chair with the crown in a baggie. Dr. Vic came in, looked at the x-ray and then the crown. He said it’s possible he could still use it. “I don’t need anything for numbing,” I told him. He said, “Oh, yes, you will. You’re going to need a root canal.” I was assured it would NOT be epinephrine.
I’m thinking maybe it would be a good idea to have seat belts in these patient’s chairs. I could wind up on the floor. Anticipating the worst and hoping for the best, I received my first shot. I waited. Nothing was happening… I wasn’t getting woozy, no heart pounding, I was just fine. I had no idea I would get three more shots and before it was finished, at least four more x-rays. I call them tooth pics.
During the procedure, I could hear grinding, whirring sounds, and what felt like screws being screwed in really deep, and then pulled out. I’m assuming they are cleaning out the pulp chamber and root canal. Antiseptic solutions were squirted in to prevent infection, and when an instrument is inserted and you’re told to close your mouth, wow, what a noise! I also got a few blasts of air.
There may have been a post put in for stability of the temporary crown, I’m not sure. During this whole time, I’m saying to myself, “Relax, Betty (not Elizabeth), relax your neck, unclinch your fists, you are in no pain, relax!” And I did. As Dr. Vic was finishing, he said to me, “You’re a damn good patient!” As soon as everything was out of my mouth, I said, “And you’re a damn good doctor!” It was all finished in less than an hour.
And as soon as I got home I treated myself to Susie’s Godwinks! My comment in Godwinks will answer the question as to why the heck I wrote this comment in Things Come in Threes.