Hose Bib

I know you can stream Netflix movies, but with the reliability of our cable company not being all that good we order DVDs. It works okay most of the time, although we often get movies I hate. That is probably because of Mark and his insane obsession with X-Men movies. I hate them, Mark orders them. Anyway, once we watch a Netflix DVD, I put the disc back in the mailer that it came in and leave it down by the mailboxes for the letter carrier to pick up. If it goes out with the next day's mail, we can expect another one to show up the day after that. Our regular guy always takes it, but sometimes we get a substitute carrier and they're lazy. That's when Mark goes berserk. Cursing and yelling, talking bad about people from Chicago, and trying to pin the blame on me. So you can see that I have an incentive to make sure the mailman.. er, letter carrier, takes that envelope when they drop off the mail. 

Friday I was out front planting flowers when I heard somebody behind me say my name and ask me "How's it going?" It wasTim, our mail guy. I looked up, gave him salutations, and realized I hadn't put the disc out for him to pick up.

"Oh, Tim. I have a Netflix disc for you to take, but I have to go around to the back door because the front door is locked."

"Okay, Hurry up. I'm not coming back this way. I already did the other side of the street."

"Don't worry. I'll catch up to you."

So I took off running, or what passes for running these days. Sort of a fast walking shuffle. Down the gangway between the buildings, to the back of the house. About ten feet from the backyard gate I was nearly knocked off my feet and a sharp pain shot up through my right arm. I had run into the hose bib that sticks out from the side of the house. (Hose bib: That thing you attach the garden hose to. A term I learned hanging around my plumber brother.) A loud string of profanities streamed from my mouth as I continued to struggle towards the back door. I had to get that Netflix envelope out to Tim. Because neither rain nor shine, snow nor sleet, or a broken arm will keep this guy from his appointed task, as put forth by Mark.