a PERFECT day

it was! perfect in every moment! i'll give you the details, because it was extra-ordinary and i don't want to spill a drop of it....when i woke up this morning, i had an inkling to go to canandaigua, but for some reason kept getting pulled to skaneateles. i was going to invite my neighbor, but just thought "no." so off i went into the glorious fall sunshine...the amber and reds screaming LOOK AT ME all along the back roads...me screaming loudly & out of tune to Jonatha Brooke Live (the CD - she wasn't in my car)...got to my favorite store on the lake and shopped like it was my job...found The Most Incredible Skirt and a bunch of other stuff. i love love love this store because they have clothes that FIT, clothes that are only found in THAT store, and clothes that are Way More Stylish than CNY. and they have a resident dog to play with. and yes it's pricey, but not as bad as you may think. so i feel like a thousand bucks when i leave there. okay, so shopping done...i need a chocolate skinny vodka valium latte just to believe my good fortune! pop in for a visit at my girlfriend's gallery and she wants to feature some of my work for the holidays! oh my head will explode! then another quick trip to the artist co-op, and they've decided to accept commission art and would i be interested? hmm. uh yep. so i head home before my pumpkin head goes all blammo. decided to go find a nice pair of brown boots to go with the swell skirt i got. oh! a detour on 321...down a skinny 1-and-a-half lane road with more hairpin curves than Nascar. whew out onto the real road. now right turn onto Route 5, and , and , and....car goes into a slow glide with no brakes, power steering or really much of anything. it comes to it's final rest just before someone's wide wide driveway, at the widest part of the shoulder for miles around. Luckily i still have the keytag from my mechanic on my keyring! i call and warn him that we've got a date...he's slammed he says...really busy. And you know, here i am in my car at the side of the road and i have a choice: i can get really really upset...or not. i choose Not. it's a beautiful day...i'm not late for anything...i'm safe...i have a cell phone and roadside assistance...so why get ticked? so i told my (only honest) mechanic to keep the car till monday (once i get it there). he kind of laughs, and is in a better mood. i get a tow truck there (finally) and no kidding - it's a company i used to send out when i worked at 911, and i always wanted to meet the driver! i'm not sure if it's the same one, so i introduce myself, and hurl myself caber-like into the passenger seat of the Huge flatbed tow/wrecker. the driver is the owner, Gastone, and soon we are chatting it up. i love Gastone because he is handsome, and is genuinely amused at my Quebecoise French, and not just thinking "stupid girl from America thinking she speaks french." During a momentary lull, he comments that i seem awfully happy for someone who's car is up high and looking in his back window (my words there). i said "There are worse things." so this put him in a good mood, since i wasn't going to be a shreak-er or cry-er or grumble-er. we talk about cars, and Garmins and stuff. now, my roadside assistance is provided free of charge from my car insurance...you get what you pay for. i fully expect to pay Big American bucks when we arrive the 20 minute drive to my Honest But Frazzled Mechanic. he says "sign here and we're even." to my shocked look, he said i'd put him in such a good mood, it was worth more than what he could have charged me. the Pumpkinhead is about to blow! i mean, it was a Perfect day already...then THAT! i mean, yes - my car broke down. bummer. BUT - if it had happened 5 minutes sooner (literally), i would have been careening down hairpin curves on a 90-degree slant with no steering or brakes. if it had happened 5 minutes later, there wouldn't have been anywhere for the tow truck to turn around & get in position. i was safe, it was beautiful out, it was quiet in my car. as a result of my attitude choice, at least 2 other people got smiles in their hearts. AND i still have the perfect skirt and other stuff! so you tell me....wasn't it a perfect, lucky day? L.