Chaos In Action

Friday is the last day to enter the Shout Out Contest. See rules above on how to enter your blog. Tweet, blog and tell your buddies!

Notice the very Texan-y prize package. Sorry about the glare. That's a ruler with the catchphrase: Don't mess with Texas. (The slogan, by the way, was part of a campaign to keep people from littering.)

We were green before it was cool. :wink:

***

Monday was utter chaos. I live in the boonies and at no time did that become more evident than when I tried to get a car rental place to pick me up. The first one was out of cars. The second wouldn't even answer their phone.

In the meantime, a friend called to see how I was and I told her I was waiting for another car rental place to return my call. This angel took the entire day off from work, then drove an hour to reach me before driving another 160 miles to rescue Greg.

I've said this before, but I have the BEST friends in the world. I can't express how special that makes me feel.

Anyway, Greg is finally back at his house and I am at mine. It turned out his battery shorted out the electrical system. He said: We're hemorrhaging money faster than we can cauterize the wounds. --heh, no truer words.

No matter how bad our troubles have been, I have two friends who have had it worse, what with health issues, so I am counting my blessings.

June, thank you for coming. You can leave now.

What do you do when all heck breaks loose? Do you call your friends and family, or hunker down and ride out the storm?

I like to ride things out myself, but it's nice to know who you can count on when the manure hits the fan.

Comments

Dru said…
I'll do a little bit of both.

I don't have too many friends that I can count on who live locally and the one sister I can count on lives in another state.

Sometimes just getting a "hug" from my virtual friends makes everything feel better.
Maria Zannini said…
Ref: ..."hug" from my virtual friends...

Dru, you can say that again. It's just knowing someone is there that helps so much.
Jackie said…
For me it's an easy decision. Hunker down until all things pass. The only 2 people I have ever truly depended on, besides myself, live with me already so that narrows the playing field lots! In our entire life together my DH and I have always been the people others could look to for help because we have been very lucky to be able to take care of all the curve balls thrown our way all these years. Only 3 times since getting married has that changed and none of the times did we have to ask someone to go as far out of their way and as above and beyond as your friend Maria. You have a very nice friend BTW!


I really hope now things start to turn around for you for the better, good has to be right around the corner!!


jackie b central texas
Jennifer Shirk said…
Oh, that was SO nice of your friend!
It depends on my situation who I call, but I have a select group of friends and family that I KNOW would help me in a pinch, too. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Thanks, Jackie. I don't like to dwell on bad things. It's bad medicine for the soul.

Events are cyclical. It'll get better.

Thanks for stopping in!
Maria Zannini said…
Jennifer:

Ref: Oh, that was SO nice of your friend!

Wasn't it, though? Like you, I have a handful of friends I know I can call anytime, anywhere.

(In this case, she called me. The woman must be psychic.)

But like Dru said above, even having cyber friends to lift your spirits is hugely comforting.
Mike Keyton said…
Hope July is better for you, Maria.

Ref all hell breaking loose - if it's personal I withdraw, keep quiet. If it's physical eg any kind of DIY disaster - I aint too proud to beg : )

And Dru is right. Hugs from virtual friends are great
Maria Zannini said…
Mike:

I think that's my modus operandi too.

When we had that major hurricane a few years back, we just rolled up our sleeves and everyone (including strangers) helped each other.

July has to be better. I must insist. LOL.
Liz Fichera said…
You really know who your friends are when the chips are down. That's for sure. Glad it worked out for you!

When things go nuts, I go running. Literally. I'm one of those freakazoid runners. Not marathon-like, but I do like to run in the desert. It's a sickness.
Joanne said…
Liz is a runner, and I'm a walker. That helps. And hunkering down, gladly crossing off the calendar days until peace and quiet resumes ...
Maria Zannini said…
Liz:

Ref: running

That's a healthy alternative. I know several people who clean when all hell breaks loose. (I'm not one of them.)

I plot while I'm hunkered down. I start planning my options on what to do next in case things go even more wrong--which in this case, they did.
Maria Zannini said…
Joanne: Walking, running, cleaning.

I'm seeing a trend. We must think more clearly when we're doing something that doesn't require a lot of thought.

I can't walk or run anymore, but I will rake leaves or weed.
I'm lucky to have plenty of family close by. Like you, I'm in the Texas boonies. But my father lives just down the street and I'm less than an hour from my sister (hey, that's considered close out here!).
Maria Zannini said…
Marguerite:

Ref: hey, that's considered close out here!

Isn't that the truth, though? You can't just run to the corner store. Everything's spread out in Texas.

That's one thing that took me by surprise when I moved down here. I actually had to get a driver's license. :)
Marianne Arkins said…
I have a tendency to just suck it all up and keep it in (which leads to a round of pretty sucky depression). But, I'm a fixer, too... so after all that, I look for a solution.

My friends know if they don't hear from me, something bad is happening, because I've retreated to my cave.

You're right, though, about other folks having it worse. Sometimes it helps put things into perspective.
Maria Zannini said…
Marianne:

Ref: My friends know if they don't hear from me, something bad is happening, because I've retreated to my cave.


LOL. My friends know that if they don't hear from me, I'm probably in a ditch somewhere, or lion dinner. :)
Anonymous said…
I used to live very much in the Texas boonies growing up. When kids in school asked if I knew my neighbors, I shrugged and said, "They're cows."

Now I live in a suburb in College Station that's still pretty out of the way. There's no cable running out here and absolutely no one delivers.
Kim said…
I just sit back and ride it out. My motto is "This too shall pass," and it usually does. I leave the worrying up to others. :D
Maria Zannini said…
Barbara:

No cable surrounding College Station? Wow! That is surprising.

Ref: cows

LOL! I never thought of that. Now I can say I have lions and llamas for neighbors.
Maria Zannini said…
Kim:

You'll probably live longer than me. LOL. I'm a worrier.