24/100

10 People

1. Tom was the burly man from the energy company who came to our house unannounced today. We were auto-enrolled in a state program that provides free energy audits and basic repairs, and his company is one of the contractors. Mike did the initial inspection a few weeks ago, and today our doorbell rang shortly after 1. I was on the phone, and J was in the kitchen. Tom introduced himself. His head was shaped like an enormous triangle, and his chest was so big that I thought he might have to turn sideways to walk through our doors. I cleared my trumpet cases out of his way downstairs, and he wrenched down at our gas pipes for over an hour, occasionally coming up to make remarks about galvanized steel and bushings, and other things I didn't understand. He shook my hand once he was finished and pulled out of our driveway.

2. Dominic sold us our minivan yesterday. He gave me a curious sort of look when we walked into the dealership and remarked that he thought he knew me. I said my name was Roy, but he heard "Corey," and I had to repeat myself. Then I forgot his name, and thought for a moment that maybe his name was "Corey," but that couldn't be right. He eventually figured out that I was a Smith, and told me that he'd gone to school with Martha. Dominic and his wife put an offer in on their first home last night, and they are waiting to hear whether it's been accepted or not. They'd rather live in Albion than Medina, even though they both work in Medina. I made him take at least six different offers and counteroffers up to his manager before we finally accepted a price, but he still took J and I across the road to Double Dips after we'd completed the sale. Apparently he and J have the same birthday.

3. Brian was the salesman at the Oakfield dealership. We were over an hour late to meet with him, because we'd been talking to Dominic and haggling about a price for our Transit. We apologized to Brian, and I asked him if I could leave my coffee on his desk while we test drove the Chrysler that he had for us. We took it down to my Dad's old studio and turned around in the parking lot. He let me borrow a piece of paper to work out the calculations for cost per mile v. remaining miles, and then looked disappointed when I told him we were going to drive back to Medina. J felt sorry for him.

4. Andrew was the 17 year old who bought our Yaris. He's going to MCC for nursing in the fall, and he might transfer to Roberts after he finishes two years there. His younger sisters are homeschooled, and they kicked a ball around with James and Owen while we transferred the title and took off the plates. Andrew was wearing Bills gear both times I saw him, and grinning from ear to ear about having his own car. He hasn't passed his driver's test yet.

5. Charlie is Andrew's grandfather. He collects Corvettes and keeps them so clean that "you could eat off the floors." He thinks that you need to be tougher on boys than on girls, and he thinks that owning a car will be good for Charlie, because "you have to grow up at some point." He thinks that the Yaris is in pretty good shape, but that we didn't keep it clean enough. His oldest son lost his wife recently, and he's glad he was so hard on him when he was a boy, because it toughened him up enough. He says that women always side with the kids, but that he told his wife that he was right. He's retired now, but his son (the widower) took over his contracting business.

6. Peter is Andrew's father, and Charlie's son in law. He went and grabbed a screwdriver when I realized that I'd forgotten one, and then a ratchet set when the screwdriver wouldn't get the license plate off. He says he isn't particularly handy with tools, and that he was just glad his father-in-law wasn't there to stand over his shoulder. His father-in-law pulled into the driveway almost immediately after he said this.

6. Gregg was the salesman at the Bath dealership who I called twice yesterday. I pretended to be interested in one of his Transit Connects, but I was really just trying to get Dominic to drop the price on the car we ended up buying. I forgot Gregg's name while I was talking to him the first time and called him Marcus or something. Gregg texted me his name and number after that so that I could save it in my phone. Dominic called him back a few minutes later and pretended to be me so that he could get VIN numbers for a few other vehicles. I don't think we sounded very much alike.

7. Melissa looked at the Yaris last week. She has two kids, and she was a double major in flute and piano when she started college, but then she switched to international relations. She spent some time in South America and met her husband down there. She came with her husband and her father, and she loved the color of the Yaris. They drove it around in a pouring rainstorm, and then all four of us chatted in the garage while it poured outside. They had been trying to make due with just one car, but they it was just too hard. They offered us a little less than what we were asking, and we decided to wait through the weekend. By the time she called back to offer us more, Andrew had already bought it.

8. Bill is Melissa's father. He used to go running every day, but he had to have a knee replaced about ten years ago, and he can't run anymore. Now he just takes long walks. He has three kids and nine grandkids, and they live in Rochester. He knows one of the RPO violinists, and he has a nice looking poncho.

9. Sonya plays violin in Syracuse. Last night she was playing concertmaster. I think she went to school in Rochester, and I've seen her at compline with her husband kids before. She facebook messaged me on the way back last night and told me there was a tail light out on the Corolla.

10. Owen is a two year old. He sucks on his fingers and takes off his pants whenever he remembers that he's wearing them. He ate an enormous cookie at Wegmans this morning, and then hardly any of his lunch. He smashed up his vegetables into little pieces with his fingers, and then when his mother told him to use a spoon, he used the spoon to smash up his sandwich. He has lots of sand in his shoes.