Susan Mangigian, Chester County Life

This is one of those meandering things that just happens every now and again, the two things are not related, but they both tickled my funny bone. 

PART I

I have a friend who has money.  He owns a strip mall and had a tenant, let's say they were jewelers for lack of something more imaginative.  So the tenant and the owner, my friend, became sort of friends.  The tenants are now citizens of this great country, but they started out life somewhere where the laws are just a bit more loosey goosey than they are here.  The tenants decide that since the owner of the building, their friend, seems to have more than enough money, they didn't really need to pay the rent.   No hard feelings.  In fact, they were very nice about it.  They kept sending the checks, only problem was, there was no money in the account to cover it.

My friend pays them a little visit.  Only one of the partners is there.  He smiles... Hello!  Great to see you.  My brother, my mother and my sister took a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II and they are now enjoying the hospitality of a lovely 5 star restaurant in, we'll say Italy, for the sake of the story.  Oh really, says my friend.  Ah hem..., I'm here about the rent.  It seems that for the past several months, the checks have been bouncing.  Oh, no problem, says the tenant, here I'll write another check. 

I'm sure you know where this is going.  That check, the owner takes directly to the bank and guess what?  Insufficient funds.  The owner goes to his attorney who must know someone who knows someone and he gets all of the accounts frozen.

Now the brother, the mother and the sister are eating at a wonderful Italian restaurant... very pricey.  The waiter brings the credit card back... sorry... your credit card has been denied.  No problem.  Try this one.  Same thing.  This one?  No?  Okay, let me write you a a check.  Okay. 

Next morning, the brother here at the jewelry store gets a frantic call from Italy.  All of the accounts are frozen, none of the credit cards are good and their checks are useless.  HELP!!

Well, long story short, the brother that was here had to take cash over to the attorney's office and then the accounts were "unfrozen".  What is the point of this story? 

My friend just emailed me today to tell me that he ran into the brothers and he was invited over their home for dinner tonight!  Are you kidding me?  "I hope you are taking a food taster along with you", I say.  He says, all is forgiven.  Again... are you kidding me??  You stranded a cowboy in Italy with his mother and sister and you think all is forgiven?  Are you nuts?  I haven't heard back yet, but I am hoping he took my advice and took a food taster!

PART II

Here is the second part of the story.  I deliver Meals on Wheels on Thursdays.  One of my recipients didn't answer the door yesterday.  I peeked through the window, and I could see that his gas fireplace was lit and the dog was loose.  Very unusual, when he is not home, the dog is crated and no one leaves the fireplace on.  I called the emergency contact, no answer.  I left messages everywhere.  I am very worried about this man, who lives alone with his dog, Buttercup.  I called Meals on Wheels and I am told not to worry, they will handle it.  But could I do them a favor.  When someone is not home, I usually give the food to the next person, so it doesn't go to waste.  This time, since I continued on my rounds and back tracked to the home again to double check that maybe he just didn't hear the door, I was stuck with the meal.  Could I taste the food and let them know what I thought?

Well, I have made no bones about the fact that the smell of the food is not very good.  I swallowed and said... taste it?  She said.. "I would really appreciate it, I've heard the food has been better lately".  I answered... "I am Italian.. I have to say, better than what?" I admitted that it didn't smell as bad as it usually did.

I call my best friend Leann.  I tell her that she won't believe it, but the food I have been complaining about smelling all of this time, I have to taste!  Leann is very easy on food.  She thinks the Olive Garden is the best Italian food ever!  I mean, really?  Everywhere we go, she thinks the food is wonderful!  So she says, Susan, Susan, Susan.  That is definitely not a job for you.  You are too picky.   I'll taste it.  So that's what we did. 

I brought the food to work, and she ate it.  All of it.  I drank the container of milk because I happen to love going down memory lane with milk in a carton.  I was ready to get my blanket and mat and take my afternoon nap, just like we did in Kindergarten!  She pronounced the food to be "very good".  She even forced me to taste a bite.  It was a meat sauce served over boiled spaghetti with a side order of corn.  Corn with spaghetti?  Don't get me started.  I have to admit, it wasn't bad.  Not gourmet maybe.  But definitely not bad. 

So in one day, two people needed a food taster.  I got one.  I haven't heard from my friend yet.  Not sure if he listened to me!

Epilogue

My friend, the rich guy, is alive and well.  He had a lovely dinner last night and the host and hostess were very gracious.  One of the tenants has since married and he and his lovely wife have two children and they were just adorable.  My friend is a little gassy, but doing well!  No food taster needed.

I was remiss in not reassuring all that my Meals on Wheels person is doing well.  It seems that on Thursday morning, he had heart palpitations and had a friend take him to the emergency room.  He forgot he left the fireplace on and called me that night to thank me for my concern and let me know that he and Buttercup were doing fine.  I'm sorry I forgot to let you know that before.

Yesterday, in an effort to alleviate all of my current angst, I listed the top 10 things that drive me crazy.  Admittedly and all of my friends know this, the drive to crazy is a very short trip for me.  Today, in keeping with Mike Saunder's great idea, I'd like to take this time to list today's top 10 things that keep me smiling.

Yesterday was a snow day.  I always kiddingly refer to it as Mom Held Hostage (when the kids were younger, this wasn't so much kiddingly as it is now).  My older son is away at college, so it was really just Max, my 12 year old, and me.  As Max gets older he is developing into one of the nicest people I know and is truly a pleasure to be around.  So today, and not just because he bitched last week that his brother and the dog were listed higher than he, Max gets top billing.

1.  My son Max.  I am so grateful that this passionate, articulate, intelligent and absolutely beautiful little boy landed in my family.  He is funny, irreverent, keenly intelligent and has a heart of gold.  On our snow day, since I had lunch plans with a family friend, Max joined Ed and I and we had a blast.  Max is the kind of kid that when you visit me, he'll sit at the kitchen table and talk with the adults.  He has always enjoyed company and he thinks my friends are a hoot!  So, I thank God today, for Max, who keeps me smiling, every day.  I took this picture on Christmas Eve of Max and Ed.  Not realizing that they had agreed to close their eyes on purpose to drive me batty, I insisted on taking another picture, only to have them do it again! 

2.  My son Mike, away at college, doesn't call much.  But he did call on Tuesday night and he did not ask for money.  For this I am thankful.  Yesterday, I got a text from his best friend, who is also attending Kutztown University.  It seems Mike is out of Bear Bucks, and Griffin was texting me to see if I could put some money into the account!  Manipulation you say?  Could be.  But I am thankful that Mike has friends that care about him enough to text his mom!  Did I send the money yesterday?  No.  But I'm going to do it today.  I thank God for Mike and his friend Griff.

3.  My friends here on Active Rain.  I wrote a post this week because I was feeling down.  http://activerain.com/blogsview/899344/Reality-Sucks-January-Blues  Well, my friends here jumped into the fray and had me laughing on a day that I would have sworn nothing would be funny.  So my personal thanks to the special people here, in the rain, who reach out when you are happy, sad and just plain down in the dumps!

4.  I am thankful that people like Russell Lewis think I am funny.  It makes me happy to make people laugh.  I get a hugh kick every time someone types LMAO @ Susan.  Jason Crouch made a comment that one of my posts was hysterical, and it made my day.  jesse, Gary, Mel, JL, Richard, C, Paul, Inna, Amanda, Lisa, Rich, Tammy, etc, etc, etc.  I love you guys and I am thankful that we have each other to laugh with.

5.  I am thankful that I called a friend today who obviously need to talk.   It was a coincidence, but it was a good one. She needed to cry and to vent and I was glad to be there.

6.  I am thankful for my mom, who has been my best friend for 49 years, so far.  She's the cutest little Italian lady who taught me how to cook, how to stand my ground, how to be a mom. 

7.  I am thankful, that I stood my ground, finally, and got myself and my son our dog.  He's the bright side of every day, his eager affection and loving manner makes any situation easier to deal with.

8.  I'm grateful for the mail.  Silly, isn't it?   But growing up in South Philadelphia, the mailman always put the mail right into our front vestibule.  This was a very small room, maybe 3 x3, where you could kiss your boyfriend goodbye while you dad impatiently waited for you to come out so he could tell you how much he didn't like him.  Now, I have a mailbox at the end of a driveway.  How cool is that?  For 24 years, I have had the pleasure of walking up to my mailbox.  Sometimes, I even get to chat with the mail person.  I love to get mail (hint, hint), not bills so much, but cards and letters make me very happy.

9.  My son's school has a new system of calling you early in the morning to let you know if inclement weather (I love the way they call crappy weather inclement) is affecting the opening of school.  Used to be you had to wake up, bleary eyedly (this is not a word, but you get the picture) and either wait for the newscaster to flash the school across the bottom of the screen, hopefully before a commercial break, or get on line.  Now, the phone rings, there's a two hour delay, and you can roll over and go back to sleep.  I'm thankful for that.  I got a call from school on Monday that apparently some parents are not so happy with this and have called to complain about the early morning phone calls, thereby proving that some people are just never going to be happy!

10.  I am thankful to be here.  Alive.  Today.  Still ticking.  Still laughing. Still dancing.  Still singing (off key), still playing air guitar.  Still embarrassing my sons. 

Bonus round:  I got a comment on one of my posts from TLW!!  I'm thankful that she is feeling a bit better!  Yeah!

That is  it for today.  Thank you for reading!

I am taking a brief hiatus from my life lessons as learned from the wonderful book Dogs Don't Bite when a Growl will do. 

I am loving these stories, each with a nice quote, but it was time for me to dive into a big novel.  I have many favorite fictional authors, but Nelson DeMille ranks right at the top.  Always irreverent, witty and suspenseful, so far, my new book is not disappointing.  My mom bought it for me for Christmas, and I have been saving it for a treat to read, and now the time has come!

The Gate House is a follow-up to Mr. DeMille's wonderful book, The Gold Coast.  John Sutter, the main character, is funny, smart, a real smart ass and a great person to hang around with in a book  His insights into human nature make me want to use a yellow highlighter to remember some of the great lines in this book. In fact, just this morning, I wondered to myself if I shouldn't start it over, with highlighter in hand.  It's very witty!

I highly recommend this book, but if I were you, I'd read the Gold Coast first! 

So, what are you reading?

Every morning, lately, I start the day at my computer.  Reading my email, flipping back and forth from Facebook and Active Rain, chuckling at the comments and writings of my friends here on-line.  It hit me this morning that real estate agents really are a very funny group as a whole.  Is that true, or is it just that I attract funny people into my life?

My real life friends aren't all Realtors, but with the possible exception of my long time friend Robyn, the funniest friends I have are Realtors.  My best friends in the entire world, Leann, Liz and Jackie can make me laugh so hard that my sides ache and it's not unusual to see us bent over in the computer room with our legs crossed, laughing like we are at a comedy club.  And it doesn't take much.  A single word, a glace and we are off to the races!

Active Rain has been a major source of amusement for me.  I'm thinking that Realtors are so funny because we are so diverse.  It's an industry where almost everyone had a former life and profession.  Maybe not in medicine, but there are writers, engineers, teachers, secretaries, office managers, bankers, bartenders, nurses, just to name a few.  In my opinion, it's the former bartenders that seem to be the most successful as Realtors and the funniest as people. Is it the bringing together of all of those past experiences that makes us click so well and laugh so well together?

Just throwing it out there.  Are we the funniest people on earth, or do I just have a very exposed funny bone?

In an effort to maintain my positive outlook on life, I am continuing with my Thankful Thursdays List (with a thanks to Mike Saunders for the idea).  The weather outside is frightful but my friends make my life delightful, so here is my thankful list, let it show, let it show, let it show... that I am thankful.

1. My dog tops the list once again, even though the little darling smiled at me yesterday morning, while he was peeing on my bed.  Yes... You read that right.  I allowed the little blighter upstairs with me, he jumped on my bed, and while I was drying my hair and talking to him, he smiled that loopy grin at me, squatted and peed on my bed.  Yikes.  Cute as a button and dumb as a post.
   
2. Yesterday, my people went to agreement on that 55 and older community.  Settlement is not until October, but I should be getting the backup listing by 2/1/09!
3. My older son Mike is back at school and seems to be doing well.  I miss him, but he's happy, so I'm happy.
4. Max, my 12 year old,  scored 13 out of the 26 points in his basketball game this past weekend.  I was very happy for him.
5. Friday night is an office happy hour.  I get to watch my favorite broker be guest bartender!  Our office happy hours are always a lot of fun.
6. I am getting ready to deliver my meals on wheels this morning.  I love to do this and usually get a few hugs out of the recipients.
7. JL Boney has agreed to let me adopt him.  If anyone could be smartassy enough to be a member of my family, it's JL.  I love his sense of humor and I am thankful to have gotten to know him.
8. C Tann-Starr is planning a visit with the minions for the end of January.  Gotta think of something good and Italian to feed them!
9. I've lost a few pounds and I am now only 4 pounds over my acceptable middle aged weight.  I'm getting there!  I am no longer concentrating on weight, but have been exercising more and it appears to be helping.
   
10. I showed my listing to a buyer last night and she is bringing her parents out this weekend.  Another good sign.

There you have it.  My top ten list of things to be thankful for today.  Thanks for sticking around long enough to read it.

I love it over at facebook, and my cousin Joe Carlini sent me an invitation to join a group called Gravy Wars, South Philly Food Feuds and Attytudes. 

Growing up, we always called the red sauce you put on pasta (macaroni for us South Philadelphians) gravy.  It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that for the majority of people in the area, gravy was brown and you put it on roast beef.  Well, we call that brown gravy! If you are having a seafood sauce, my mom always called it seafood gravy.  Just putting crabs in it... crab gravy.  Very simple.

Of course, this was only one of the many things that I realized was different about me than my non Italian friends.  When I go out to lunch, I love to get soup and a 1/2 of a sandwich.  Now, when the menu says, your choice of bread. to me that implies I can have my choice of bread.  Okay, I'll have chicken salad on a roll.  Bad enough they are going to call it a kaiser roll, wherever that name came from, but now they tell me I can't have my sandwich on a roll.  I say why not... the menu says my choice of bread.   Oh, it has to be sliced bread.  They can't cut the roll in half... who else will eat it?  Seriously?  There isn't one other Italian girl in this restaurant that wants a 1/2 of a sandwich?

Italians make meals into great social gatherings.  I love to sit around the kitchen table with friends and family and eat, talk and laugh.  Meals are meant to be celebrated and enjoyed.  Not something to get over with.  I have my doubts about a person who doesn't love food.  How passionless.  I love to watch people eat that love it!  I love to cook for people who love to eat.

My husband makes me mad every time we have dinner.  I go to great lengths to delicately spice my meals and the man puts hot pepper relish on everything.  Why do I bother?  He wouldn't know the difference!  And he doesn't like seafood gravy?  And he likes to watch TV while he eats.  And he wants to eat his salad first.  What is up with that?  We always had salad at the end of the meal.  How else would your stomach know it was time for dessert? His family always rushed through the meal so that they could all line up in front of the TV.  One family meal that included his side of the family forced me to unplug the TV and pretend I didn't know what was wrong with it.  Sadly, they figured it right out!

I loved growing up in South Philadelphia.  I loved having close neighbors and sitting on the front step on a warm summer night, talking and laughing.  I loved walking down a South Phiilly street on a warm summer Sunday and smelling everyone's gravy simmering on their stoves!  I loved that I could walk every where I needed to go and I loved feeling like I belonged somewhere.  I looked like everyone else, I talked like everyone else.  I was Italian, and pretty much, so was everyone else! 

So, the next time a pretty Italian woman invites you over for gravy, at least now you'll know what she's talking about!

It was my New Year's resolution, the only one I made, to finish the tortuous job of reading Anna and the King of Siam.  I did enjoy it, but it was not compelling.  It wasn't one of those books that you thought about when you were out with friends and couldn't wait to get back to.  You see, that's how much I love to read.  I actually think about the characters when I should be enjoying the here and now of the company I am in.  Oh well, the tortured soul of the true reader.

I just finished a quick overnight read.  Rough Weather.  It's a Robert B. Parker novel.. you know.. Spencer!  Always good for a quick diversion, where the men are gruff but moral and the women are gorgeous and eat like birds.  Robert Parker spends quite a few lines in every book describing Spencer's meals with his lady love Susan.  No comparison to me, who eats with gusto, Susan daintily nibbles on salads while Spencer eats like a man's man.  If I could say I didn't like one thing about his novels, that would be it.  Real women love food.  Deal with it.  Other than that, I highly recommend this book for a quick and entertaining read.

Thanks to my friend Don Rogers, who recommended the book I am reading now.  I am thoroughly enjoying Dogs Don't Bite When a Growl Will Do.  What Your Dog Can Teach You about Living a Happy Life.  I don't usually find myself compelled by self-help, happy feeling books, but I am so enjoying this book.  Quick one or two page chapters, each with a quote, and I love quotes.  My new quote for my signature on email came from this book, although I changed it to suit me, I'm hoping Plato won't mind.  The quote is:  I do not live to play, but I play in order that I may live and return with great zest to the labors of life.  I changed "play" to "laugh" in both places and it suits me to a "T".  So Plato, I sincerely hope you don't mind.

So, I'd love to know what you are reading.  And Gary.... it's okay if it's non-fiction.  Go ahead, tell me, I can take it!

Also, don't forget to check out goodreads.com.  You can keep track of all of the books you are reading, read reviews and get great ideas on what to read next.  Chris Fisher recommended it to me and I love it.