THE LUCKIEST FOOL

Time got away from me, as it often does when I'm in the yard, weeding, weeding, weeding. I stopped to examine the small patch I'd managed to clear, and then glanced at the rest of the yard and realized the futility of my efforts. I'd never be done weeding.

I went inside to cool down and replenish lost fluids, but a quick glance at the clock reminded me I'd better hurry if I was to get the credit card payment to the post office before the last pick -up of the day. I forgot about my immediate thirst, slipped into a decent pair of shoes, and drove off in a rush to beat the five o'clock deadline.

I was practically at the post office when a man behind me began flashing his lights and gesturing for me to pull over. My immediate thought was that I'd left a door open, or that I was driving on a low tire. Regardless of what the problem was, my exit was fast approaching, so I put my turn signal on and drove up the steep ramp into the post office parking lot.

Still flashing his lights and vying for my attention, the man followed me up the ramp and pulled up alongside my car. He gestured for me to roll my window down.

"There's a telephone on the back of your car, lady," he said.

"You've gotta be kidding!" I responded, but no sooner were the words out of my mouth that I remembered I'd placed it there myself, while I was out weeding the yard.

In my rush to avoid a late fee, I'd plain forgotten our expensive cordless, left it to its own fate as I backed down our steep driveway, wove in and out of traffic, bounced over speed-bumps, turned sharp curves and drove up steep inclines, not to mention a few abrupt stops at inconvenient signs. A more loyal phone I've never owned. Surely it would have cost me more than a late fee to replace it.

On my way back home, I glanced at the phone, now safely nestled in the passenger seat, intact after its adventurous ride to the post office, and I felt like the luckiest fool in the world.