New tires and Mildred Pierce

I had an appointment at National Tire & Battery this morning. A 7 a.m. appointment. Now, for a girl who prefers not to be up until the crack of Noon, the alarm at 6 a.m. was quite startling. So I snoozed. Twice. Leaving no time for coffee before I ran out of the house.

It's four tires and an oil change. I'm the first appointment of the day. How long can it take? An hour or so and I'll hit the Starbucks and be on my way.

Except the universe had other plans. I was basically held hostage by NTB and Turner Classic Movies, which was the only channel I could get in on the television in the waiting room. I read my book for awhile, and got sucked into "Mildred Pierce" an old film from 1945 starring Joan "No More Wire Hangers" Crawford as the title character and a bunch of people I didn't know. The standout in the film was Eve Arden as Ida, the tough-as-nails restaurant hostess who gives Mildred her first job. She delivered lines like "When men get around me, they get allergic to wedding rings" with the perfect amount of sarcasm and sweetness whe was awesome! Also unforgettable is Butterfly McQueen, she of "I don't no nothin' 'bout birthin' babies" fame. And yes, that is her real voice.

But my point is, I watched the entire movie, plus part of "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." I was finally on my way to work with a lot less time and money than I'd had when I started my day.

And I still hadn't had any coffee. Thank God for Starbuck's.

Anyhoo, the car's all put back together, riding like a dream. The oil's changed, the wipers are new, and the shimmy in the front end is but a memory. Anybody wanna go for a ride?