Pinky and the Brain

I got a call from my daughter this afternoon asking what I was up to this evening. I told her that tonight is the same as every other night; hang out and watch TV. Oh and plot to take over the world like my cartoon friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJPFSNu_QNs

She asked if I wouldn’t mind helping Chris move a fridge that they had just bought. I told her sure, but it seems that I have misplaced my muscles and I am probably good only for moral support. He picked me up after he got home from work and got all of the necessary straps, directions and blankets.

Being the smart cookie that he is, he also arranged for Brendan to help. Good thing too, as Brendan actually has some upper body strength. We got to the place where they were selling the fridge (a beautiful stainless steel model) and they met us at the garage door. There was a lot of grunting, groaning and straining, but I finally made it up into the box of the pickup where I was to direct the loading. Chris, Brendan and the ex-owner of the fridge did the heavy lifting while I gave them moral support. It is really important to keep your moral up when things look bleak. They managed to get it up into the box and since it had wheels, I could push it to the back. Yea me!

While Chris was strapping it in, I chatted with the people, who were selling off their possessions because they were moving back to Korea. They had been in Canada for three years and were looking forward to going home. They gave it a good shot, but the lure of family is pretty strong. Louise and I moved back east a few years after the kids were born in order to be closer to family. It turned out that we were ultimately happier in the west than we were in the east. Louise summed it up when she was very sick that last winter in Ontario by saying “If I die, I don’t want to be buried or cremated in Ontario!” Sure, it was a little melodramatic, but we figured if we didn’t even want to be dead in Ontario then what the Hell were we doing living here?

I hope that this couple get back to Korea and find the happy life they are seeking. Sometimes you find that home is not the same as when you left. The people you left will have changed in subtle ways and so have you. If you are lucky you change in the same direction, because moving back is a big expense, whether it is to Calgary or Korea. They did agree that neither one of them will miss the extreme cold out here. To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t miss it either.

We managed to arrive back at Chris’s place with the fridge still in the box of the truck and aside from a hernia, some scraped paint and aches that I can take care of with generous amounts of Vitamin “I”, we managed to place it in their kitchen. It will look awesome! I had the extra added bonus of spending some quality time with Hurricane and Tornado while doors were being taken off of hinges and paint was being scraped. Brendan and I had a drink, a couple of sloppy kid hugs and kisses and waved off some thank yous as we headed to our respective homes. All in all, it was a good night.