NEGATIVE IONS

A good friend of mine passed on to heaven many years ago at a much too early age.  Even now I have sweet memories of her.  The memory I recall most often is how when she would have a bad day, she would say there were negative ions in the air.

I will readily admit that Science was my very worst subject in school.  The WORST.  I can relate to weird days where many things seem to not go right, though, and I, as my friend did, say that negative ions are in the air.  For all of you other Science-was-my-worst-subject-in-school folks, I did take the time to look up the definition of "ion" just in case you, like me, wondered.  An "ion" is:

an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode.

If my friend were still with us and experienced yesterday afternoon as I did, she definitely would say there were negative ions in the air.  It seemed as though I was working in slow motion.  It was a day that I worked in my office for money.  When I left the office much later in the afternoon, I had a few errands to knock out--quickly knock out I hoped.  First problem was traffic.  I'm not talking downtown capital city traffic.  I'm talking traffic in my own what-used-to-be small town.  Granted that had nothing to do with negative ions.  That had to do will elected officials and their poor planning.  But that's a blog post for another day. 

I finally got to my last stop, my favorite local grocery store that also houses the pharmacy I use.  This store begins with a "P", for all of you who wonder.  At that point, I was SO thirsty so I began my visit there with a diet coke from the deli department.  In that department, drinks are self-service.  I got to the deli fountain, contemplated my drink size, and pulled out a cup.  After filling to the brim with my favorite diet coke, I sat the cup down on the area beside the fountain and reached for a medium plastic lid.  Well, it was too big.  I reached again and it was the same thing...too big.  Hmmm, I thought.  The deli workers must have "misfiled" the lids.  I tried yet again--do people ever learn--at which time a teenage girl sitting by the area (I had not noticed her since I was in my "zone".)  said quietly to me, "You have a small drink."  Well, imagine that!  No wonder the mediums wouldn't fit.  Instead of being embarrassed as I might have been years before, I laughed out loud and said to her, "Ha, you are so right!" and laughed some more.  She sort of smiled as if she were wondering what planet this old woman was on.  Duh.

I was reaching for the small lid--which would fit--and I knocked over my diet coke.  Ice and diet coke went everywhere--on the counter, not on the floor thankfully as I couldn't have bent to clean the floor.    At that point, the girl's mother who was sitting there observing the whole mess, reached for paper towels above my head.  (Good thing she did, I didn't notice them at all.)  The girl's mother offered to help me--imagine--but I told her I had great experience in cleaning up my messes.  I cleaned up my mess, told a deli worker what I had done in wasting a perfectly good cup (my spilled stuff was in it) and offered to pay for it along with my new one that had my drink AND the appropriate lid on it.   He said certainly not as if it happened all the time. Really?  My mind was thinking....negative ions. 

I put the drink in the baby carrier section of my cart beside my two "green" grocery bags and headed to the bakery.  I will preface this by saying that I rarely get cookies in my grocery store that begins with "P".  On this day, I had realized earlier that I forgot to eat my lunch and by 2:30, the leftover meatloaf and green beans didn't appeal.  So by now after 4:00, my sugars were dropping and I could feel it happening so I went for the cookie.  With the male bakery worker's back to me as he cut and bagged wonderful smelling bread, he said, "Be with you in a minute."  I decided it was a good time to take a sip of that great diet coke.  As I picked up the cup from the baby carrier section of my cart, the lid bent slightly, came unattached, and I juggled the drink.  Maybe I can be a circus juggler some day.  Luckily, the drink didn't spill.  Or maybe I should say miraculously the drink didn't spill.  I took a deep breath.  Whew!  At that point, all the napkins I had kept from the drink fountain flew to the floor.  As I had to bend to pick up all four from various places in the floor, I thought again....negative ions.  

I did get my cookie.  I chose the Black/white cookie....one of those doughy ones that is half chocolate frosted and half vanilla frosted.  If you're gonna get a cookie, best make it a good big one.  The tag in the deli case said $1.69.  I took the bagged cookie and went to get my prescription.  The girl and her mother from the deli were there waiting also so we smiled, greeted each other as if we were old friends and laughed again about my prior predicament.  I got my prescription and went to the check out lane.

I did notice that the cookie I got had a tag on it that said $1.89.  Hmmm.. I was wanting to eat a cookie for $1.69.  I checked out and decided to go back and take another look at the cookie in the bakery case.  Maybe I was wrong with these negative ions.  I wasn't.  I discussed with the male deli worker and he said either the sign was wrong or the computer was wrong.  He suggested I get my credit at the service desk.  

Well of course there was a line of folks buying lottery tickets at the service desk....must have been a big drawing.  I wouldn't know as I've never bought one.  But that's another blog post for another day.  I must keep on track...you faithful readers will tire of my story.  I got up to the service desk and explained to the guy what happened and told him I just thought I would retrieve my twenty cents.  To my surprise, he gave me $2.  Huh.  I looked at him with a puzzled expression but then smiled as he said that this grocery store's promise is that if something is charged incorrectly, you retrieve the whole price and get the item free!  Huh!  That's when the negative ions became positive.  😊😊😊

Later as I related my experience to The Husband, he looked over and said, "Ever consider that those were more of SENIOR moments?"  You know, he could be right.  😉😉

The moral of this story, you ask?  I don't really know except that maybe it's to remember that life is short.  Even with negative ions, don't let life get you down but s-m-i-l-e.  It could be worse.  😉