Fate Toys With The Hook!

I think I owe Fate a debt of thanks for throwing me a bone yesterday.

Even though it messed with my head a bit in the process.

My first call of the day had all the makings of a disaster; the couple was confused and they asked for their own cart, which is never a good sign! The gentleman went to park while the young lady was to meet me at the room. At least, that was the plan.

Fifteen minutes of waiting in an empty hallway allowed me ample opportunity to write this post in my head – the wife would say, “There’s plenty of room in there for it!” – and when the happy wanderer finally arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see she was still smiling.

To top it off, she handed me a big bill before setting off to find her husband, whose sense of direction was as finely-tuned as his mate’s. And so I was able to chalk this one up as a win after all. And then I discovered my service elevator was jammed with housekeepers, thus forcing me to use one of the guest cars – which promptly broke down.

I spent the next few minutes chatting with an eclectic group of guests:

• A hippie couple – in their fifties.
• Three young nurses.
• A Middle-Eastern gentleman in his twenties who felt the need to introduce himself to the group. He called himself Sayid (“You know, from that show LOST?” he said) as he felt his name was too difficult for Westerners to pronounce.
  

  Sayid Jarrah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   

50-YEAR-OLD HIPPIE LADY: Oh, I’m sure it isn’t that bad, honey.

But it was. And how.

SAYID: People don’t like to even try to say it, but they don’t want to be honest about it.

An awkward silence followed.

THE HOOK: I don’t think you need to worry, it really isn’t that bad.

He said his full name again and hung his head a bit, as though he had done something wrong by being born.

THE HOOK: Yeah, you’re right, that name is a fucking nightmare, isn’t it? It has like eight vowels and there are only five in the English language.

I adopted a monotone and kept my delivery smooth. Sayid suppressed a chuckle, but when everyone else completely lost it, he joined right in. It was a moment aspiring diplomats could study and adopt for their work.

Okay, maybe not, but it was the coolest I’ve ever been…

After the elevator resumed operation and I finished my unofficial stint as a UN ambassador I resumed my duties – Miss Four Eyes is now giggling – and went about my day. The rest of my morning was quiet but peppered with financially rewarding calls and we had Burger King (Affectionately referred  to by the bell guys as “KING!!!”) for lunch, which really made my day.

Take that, critics of my so-called “negative attitude”.

TIME FOR OTHER BUSINESS..

A shout-out to my blog buddy, Kristen Lamb and her best-selling tome, We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media. Give it a try, folks. You won’t be disappointed…

CHECK IT OUT!!

ONE LAST BIT OF NEWS…

Some of you have already read this, but my first foray into fiction is now available on Wattpad. If you’re not familiar with this site, it allows writers to post pieces they want to share with the world free-of-charge – feedback is the currency of choice at Wattpad – so although my story is extremely short, I’m hoping people will let me know if I’m on the right track. You can click here or scroll over the pic below…

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