Prior to Memorial Day weekend, we had the opportunity to visit the metropolitan area of Las Anchorage. During our stay, we had the opportunity to spend some time at the home of the Buffalo Clan. We had a great time, planning the week and in general just visiting until the after the break of the new day. Being one that does not require a lot of sleep and not wanting to put anyone out, I opted to take sanctuary in the Homers recliner.
However, no one explained to me that Homer gets up at 4:00 a.m. to go to work! Just settling into my 2.5 hour nap, I am awakened by the sound of slamming kitchen cabinets, rattling of pans, coffee cups and thermos bottles, an occasional belch and other bodily noises that are usually discreetly disposed of in areas other then the kitchen.
I now know where the saying "Bull in a China Closet" comes from. After enduring the noise for twenty minutes, Homer enters the living room carrying two thermos bottles and one "to go" cup filled with fresh hot coffee.
He seemed surprised to discover that I am wide awake so he takes this opportunity to set down beside me and attempts to engage me in conversation. Normally this would be an almost entertaining scenario, however at 4:24 a.m. in the morning with little sleep and not being offered a cup of coffee, my enthusiasm was some what lacking. After faking that I was interested for twenty minutes, Homer finally announced that he had to get to work but looked forward to visiting with me again upon his return from work. Hearing this, I was filled with so much anticipation that I could not return to slumber land.
Prying myself out of the recliner, I ventured into the kitchen to fetch myself that last drop of hot coffee from the pot, only to find it empty. Not desiring to search the cabinets and read the instructional manual on how to operate the coffee maker, I opted to hold off on the coffee until Mother Buffalo awakened.
Determining that returning to sleep was not an option, I decided to take a stroll outside and explore the natural floral and fauna that abounds in the back yard. Donning my jacket, I stroll outside, looking at the fauna and stopping occasionally to listen to the song of the returning birdies. This also gave me the opportunity to look at the surrounding homes, envious that everyone else still had a couple of more hours of sleep to enjoy, waken to a cup of hot coffee, and make their plans for a new day.
On my walk about, I noticed a patch of beautiful wild dandelions growing on the south side of the house, being one on my favorite spring flowers, I could not resist inspecting them and perhaps pick a bouquet for the Golden Granny. It was here that I saw something that took me by surprise. Piled in one large tangled mess was a number of shopping carts, clearly labeled with the Safeway brand. Because of the disorderly way that they were stacked, I could not determine the actual number, however, I was able to count forty eight wheels. I quickly calculated in my own mind that if there were 48 wheels and each shopping cart had four wheels in tact that there must be a minimum of twelve Safeway shopping carts in the pile.
I spent the next forty five minutes sitting on a pile of lumber, studying the carts in an effort to make a determination as to why anyone would want twelve shopping carts. The only decision that I rendered was not to ask any questions, if I were patient, perhaps the mystery of the carts would be revealed.
Later in the day, I returned to sanctuary of Anchor Point, however the thoughts of those shopping carts continued to plague my thoughts. Like all things, if you are patient the answer will be revealed to you and in this case, I only had a two days to wait. When the Buffalo Clan pulled into the Hole In the Wall Recreational Area driving their new Chevrolet Tahoe, I could not help but notice that two Safeway shopping carts were securely fastened to the top of their new rig. Although, intrigued, I chose not to ask the obvious question as why they were taking their shopping carts on vacation.
It was only two days later, that the mystery was resolved. It was Homers turn to cook the evening meal. Although, the cook tent was nearly destroyed by fire in two attempts at heating cooking oil, Homers concept of a mobile Bar B Que was quite unique. It was relatively simple, cook the meal on the mobile Bar B Que, when done wheel it over to the buffet table. The mystery has now been solved, however, one thing continues to plague my thoughts, why does the Wolf Den have approximately 47 broken wheel chairs in their garage? I will not ask!