last night i went to perform the divorced man's monthly, lonely ritual: my laundry.
the laundry attendant watched as i spilled a pair of pants as i struggled to get my overloaded basket to the machines. then walked past them to inform me that the last load has to be in the machine by 8:30 (i worked till 8. it was 8:15. 15 min. to get the clothes into the machines? gosh, i hope i'm up to the challenge.) i summoned up my best "i wanna be helpful" smile, and said "yep! thanks". all the while wondering what his liver would look like squishing through my fingers.
i got my clothes started. there was the requisite overweight family present, complete with screaming kids. otherwise the place was empty. they were at the other end of the room, so i had a tv to my self. blessings! i went over to the attendant, and ventured: "there's a presidential speech on at 9. no one is watching the tv in the back, how about changing the channel to a major network so's i dont miss the speech?"
he said" ok. at 9."
i said "now." through my teeth.
the channel was changed amid eye rolling. (i sensed it. the guy was wall-eyed, so hard to tell.)
the screaming family collected their things and left, leaving myself and the attendant. the address began about the time my clothes needed to go in the dryers, so my attention was divided. when i got squared away i looked over my shoulder to see the attendant standing, watching the other tube with rapt attention: [b]WRESTLING![/b]