Welcome!

A SMILE-BREAKS FOR YOU - ENJOY!

Playing hooky

     "Kaiser calling," my car phone announces as I drive toward San Diego and my one o'clock eye appointment. I figure it's prob'ly just another one of those "be healthy" notices, so I'm about to let it go to voicemail when a voice says urgently, "Sheila! I need to talk to Sheila." "Speaking," I say. The voice apologizes profusely, telling me the technician who was going to do my vision check can't make it, last minute, and I need to reschedule.

     I reschedule quickly as I recover from this huge disappointment. I lie. Not a disappointment. Actually, this might be a good thing? Paul and Christy are expecting me to be gone for the next couple of hours. . . Hooky! I can play hooky this afternoon!

     Happily I change direction and drive south toward Rancho San Diego, home of restaurants and stores waiting to be visited by credit cards ready to be tapped or swiped or inserted in those hungry slots.

     Broken Yolk wins the lottery. I didn't have lunch before I left for my appointment and I haven't had a real breakfast for a long time, mostly just toast and blueberries in the mornings.

     Broken Yolk welcomes me with open eggs, but I choose a California Club Sandwich instead, no eggs. My drink? How can I resist? I need some adventure in my life. They have this new coffee drink, "Messy Caramel Latte, hot or iced" on the menu. I go for it. Iced.

     The latte is delish! The club sandwich is perfect, lots of turkey and tomatoes—on wholesome wheat bread, of course. Gotta be healthy. Always. Okay, sometimes. You know me too well.

     Cruising home down Willow Glen Road with my take-home box from Broken Yolk, Sirius sings out country music, completing the joy of my unexpected playing hooky. I'm headed home to take up my responsibilities. I walk through the door, positively gleeful. I can't wait to tell Christy and Paul about my big adventure. Hey! I lead a quiet, uneventful life for the most part.

     Hooky? I looked it up to make sure I spelled it right. I didn't. "Find and Replace" fixed that for me—took out the "e" I'd put in after the "k." But the AI definition made my day: "intentionally skipping out on your regular duties…without permission. It's the ultimate ‘mental health day,' …enjoying leisure activities instead of being where you are supposed to be." Who wouldn't like that? I bet you would, too.

     Better yet, the word's origin is said to be from New York City slang, rising from the Dutch word "hoekje", "which refers to hiding out in a corner or nook," and in the UK it means "skiiving or bunking off." Sounds kind'a fun, huh?

     You're probably wondering what the regular duties are that I was playing hooky from, since I'm retired. Or maybe you're not. Anyway, Christy and I share fetching things for and helping Paul—with his CP, he requires a little assistance here and there— as he needs or asks us to in his penultimate unrefusable charming way. This is a 24/7 responsibility. Christy gets to do it when I'm gone and vice versa.

     Playing hooky? I strongly recommend it. Next time you're tempted, try it.