putting the pieces together

This was how my day began.
It was only 7:41 AM, I'd had no coffee, and my car was trapped in reverse in the street.
Fortunately, Steven of Hook Towing & Recovery was able to show me where she hurt before he took her to get repaired.
Then, he took me where I needed to be, too.
He is a retired deputy sheriff and a super nice guy, helping turn my "Monday" back into a Tuesday again.

And just where was it that I needed to be so early?
Right here, at my dentist's office, where I had been bound for an 8:00 AM appointment to re-attach the crown that fell out last Thursday.
I had been eating a cookie, of all things, when my tongue felt the hard gold object.
Doctor Julie saw me at once and put that crown back atop tooth 15.
i thank You, God.



Afterward, I was at a loss about what to do or where to go.
Back down the street to the GMC dealership I went, on foot, of course.
Chris of Critz told me the mechanic probably would not even get to my car today, but I assured him that was fine. I had nowhere else to be and would need to be on that side of town to meet Kevin at 6 PM for the dinner buffet at Pakwan.
Fortunately, the tv in the lounge had "The Price Is Right" on.
Some normalcy for my day!
I helped myself to a cup of coffee and some cheese biscuits from Byrd's.
After the show ended, I was alone in the lounge, but "Boomerang" was on.
Good movie! I watched for a while, up through the point where Eddie Murphy and the woman are watching "Star Trek" and he is explaining the show's finer points to her as they both fade to sleep.
Very nice!
But now it was approaching 1 PM. Time for lunch?
Maybe, I thought, the AMC Classic 10 would have a movie playing?
No, they did not, not until the 4 o'clock hour.
Then, I realized something: GenerationOne would be open! And free! And right near Subway!
So, that's where I went, back down Stephenson, across Waters, and the the Subway first.
The singing clerk made a fabulous chopped salad and I sat outside and ate every bite.
Then, staying in the shade as much as possible, I meandered over to GenOne.
It was time for games, but folks were already playing.

But the jigsaw puzzle table was beckoning to me.
Someone had managed to put together the entire border of this open one.
I decided to start grouping the pieces by color: all those with a special shade of red over here, all light blue over there, that sort of thing, just to make it easier for the next person.
I even made sure every piece had been turned over to its face!
That's when I noticed the letters on

some of the tiny bits.
Those letters had differences in coloration, use of varied fonts, subtle changes in shading...
and justthatfast I found myself captivated into solving the puzzle.
After all, I was attracted to the final image of this 1000-piece test of analytical skill and attention to detail.
I had seen that image in "Now You See Me", an image of a section of a romantic bridge in Paris, the Pont des Arts.

It was an image of love, in the form of padlocks from couples of all ages, each twosome capturing their adoration of each other within the confines of a lock without a key, never to be released for eternity.
I spent about two and a half hours, but I managed to fill in these three sections, each with unique padlocks.
Then, it was closing time...
and my phone rang!
My car was ready for me!
Laura gave me a lift back to Critz.
Hooray!

And, sure enough, the mechanic had given shifting powers back to my little Saturn...
but they only charged me the diagnostic fee.
Why?
Well, they'd had to manufacture a clamp to take the place of the little plastic doohickey that connected the shift cable to something else in the engine compartment.
"That's one of the issues with older cars", the clerk told me. "Some of the parts are simply not available anywhere anymore."
He should know, as he drives a 1999 Jeep and has run across that a time or two himself.
All's well that ends well, though!
I was able to meet Kevin in time at Pakwan!
However, they were busy putting new pieces in order and were not open for dinner.
Over to Moe's again, as we had for the "Tunnel To Towers" fundraising night!
Then to a pure popcorn treat: "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw"!
What sheer fun!
Just what we both needed to cap off the day...
each other's company.
i thank You, God.