I slept OK and woke up with the alarm, fed Biscuit, took my shower, made Ron presentable. 5 minutes before our ride was due, I heard some noise out front. I looked, #6 had a pickup truck and a flatbed trailer parked in the street, completely blocking the front of my house, and, more importantly, the driveway. I decided to give him a couple of minutes.
I heard some doors slam and figured they had moved. After all, they were blocking a driveway. I looked outside again. They, two men of dubious immigration status, were standing around in my driveway, gossiping, with no apparent intent to move. And, I looked closer, there was our ride backed up behind the trailer, wondering vainly how to get in.
I went into "pit bull" mode, I went outside. My driver later told me my body language was very aggressive and angry. "You need to move" I told them. They played dumb. I told them 4 times they needed to move and finally pointed at the cab, then my driveway. They made a big production out of sighing, and very slowly getting into the truck and moving.
I was pissed. #6 has a VERY bad habit of blocking, and allowing his crews to block, my driveway. That is an access issue. What if one of us needs an ambulance? When we have asked him to move, in the past (very polite requests) he has basically told us to f(*! off.
Rude! Reminded me to vote AGAINST illegal immigration. If either of those guys had papers I'd be shocked.
I got Ron outside and into the vehicle. It was a long trip but Ron would be the next stop. He got into the backseat. We had a long trip.
Ron needed a refill on his pain pills, it is due next week but we will be gone next week. So we had to go this week. We drove forever, in traffic. The driver and I chatted.
We arrived at the location. Doc rents space from other doctors, for his practice. So he gets a station and a couple of exam rooms in exchange for some amount of cash, that way he can have several offices with a low overhead.
We saw Doc. I asked him to talk to Ron about heavy lifting. He sighed and said "That makes my job harder". Ron didn't receive it but I tried.
We finished up. We had about a 10 minute wait before our ride arrived. It was another cab but they had room for Ron in the backseat. Even better, it was a straight trip. Another long ride and we got home.
I took a nap. So did Ron. We woke up around 2:30 and got ready to go vote. We had a straight trip to the location, which was a short distance away.
The other client tried to go in and vote, but when they said they would need a state ID and a signed form (under penalty of law, I affirm... and they do charge people who vote falsely, here), suddenly "didn't have time" and left.
Uh, HUH. That's why they have the voter ID laws. To make sure everyone only votes once.
They took my ID, scanned it. They gave me my code for the polling machine and told me to go vote. I went. I always have a learning curve with the damned thing, I am ashamed to admit, but I got my vote cast the way I wanted it done.
I went back for Ron. Now, every time we have voted I just went with him and did it for him. He trusts me, and, more importantly, he can. On a couple of occasions we have voted differently and I have always respected that.
This time was different. I heard of a case of vote-stealing, where a civilian offered to help an older blind lady cast her vote, and cast it the complete opposite. I guess the polling people heard about it, too.
A stern woman wearing an ID badge said she would have to come with us, and ensure I voted Ron's way. I didn't have a problem with that but was a little concerned at the loss of privacy Ron would suffer. But they weren't doing it any other way.
So, she went with us. I punched in the code and the screen popped up. Now, I knew how Ron wanted to vote. But I asked him out loud. He said he wanted to vote a [party] straight ticket. I did that. The woman verified I had done it correctly. Then she walked me through "casting" it. Reviewing the candidates, etc. All the votes were correct. We finished, then she got us some "I voted" stickers.
We went up to the front and waited on Arturo. Ron called him, and gave him a really good tip because it was a short ride. We got home and are taking a break, then we will go to the Waffle House.
From the rubbish in the flatbed trailer, #6 is apparently doing a master bath remodel. A broken up vanity with double sinks, etc. That's going to suck until they get it done - 8 people in the house and only one bathroom. But, as they figured out, they can get the truck and flatbed convenient to the work without intruding on my property. Ron actually had me get a number for a tow company today so, next time, we can just call a tow truck to move the vehicle from in front of our driveway. It will only take once.
And we have gone over and asked politely every time, and every time he tells us off. "I'll move it when I'm ready" stuff like that. I wouldn't park in front of someone's driveway, but, if I did, and they asked me to move, I'd be "Oh, I'm so sorry, I'll do it right now". Not #6.
So dinner sounds good. I am tired and had a pretty awful TV dinner last night. I didn't tell Ron that, he felt bad enough about messing up the travel, but I could use a GOOD meal tonight.
Tomorrow I see how my vote went.
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