One Hell of a Yard Sale

In December of 2003, I lost a very dear friend named Marilyn. Her husband, Paul, is moving to Birmingham soon and this weekend he had a yard sale. I trapsed over to help him with the crowds. He lives in Soulard, a very old, wealthy, and distinguished neighborhood in south St. Louis. It has a courtyard that is just gorgeous with vegetation. His section of town is quiet, and very private.

We started on the Bloody Mary's about 8am. About 9am we ran out of vodka and had to start in on the beer. Around 10am I went to the store because we ran out of said beer. By 1pm we were both pretty darn snookered.

As most drunks do, we decided to stagger over to a local restaurant and get something to eat. It is only three blocks from Paul's house, but it became a landmine of sidewalk cracks and tretcherous curbs. As the world was a bit tilted, I had to hold on to Paul for dear life. He was holding onto the wall, you see, but then he ran out and we both ended up on the street. If my husband had been there to see us I'm sure he would have been disgusted. As it was, I could hear Marilyn laughing the whole time.

A couple walking their dog hurried past us but refused to help us up. I don't remember crawling, but we made it to the pizzeria somehow. We were both smart enough to order water, but neither of us remember ordering any food. It just appeared out of nowhere. It was then that I discovered that Paul is one of those loving drunks.
"I love you."
"I love you , too."
"You're so great, I just love you."
"No, I love you."
I paid for the meal, but I'm betting my receipt was illegible.

Then came the walk home. One glass of water did very little to dilute 3 Bloody Mary's and 8 beers. Some fool had moved Paul's house while we were eating, we walked into where it used to be and found a completely different area. By this time I had broken into a hops-smelling sweat. Paul started singing. I don't remember much after that.

Sunday morning I didn't feel half as bad as I should have. I guess getting blasted in the beginning of the day gives the body more time to recoup. Hubby and I loaded up the bikes and stuff and went to St. Charles for the Katy Trail. It was so lovely. Lots of shade, no hills, a nice breeze. About mile 7 my body remembered what it had done the day before and started to shut down. My husband was so great is letting me take a lot of breaks. We managed to eek out 20 miles yesterday and I really don't feel that bad.

Tomorrow we're getting up at 5am to go ride before work. Stay tuned...