3 posts tagged “silly”

Vox has rolled out some pretty nifty changes and I like it!  I can't stand blogger and already this system seems to be a bit more innovative and community friendly.  Hello Vox!  So nice to meet you again.

When was the last time you had to speak in front of a group?  How did you feel?

I haven't needed to speak professionally in quite sometime, but lately I've been speaking to various groups of people about my trip to Austin a couple of weeks ago (it doesn't seem like it's been that long!).  One story that always comes up though is my best friend Nina's "Reggie from the hardware store" story. 

And that story goes like this:

 "Girl!  Guess who just called me?"

"Who?"

"Reggie from the hardware store!"

"Who?"

"Girl..."

One thing to know about Nina is that she's a very artistic girl.  It seems to run in her family as all of her siblings have some artistic venue in which they exceed.  Nina is first and foremost an actress, an entertainer really, and she demands that her surroundings be as colorful and vibrant as she is.  So after her graduation and subsequent move to DC, Nina decided she was going to make DC feel like home, and she would start with her new apartment.  She has a knack for construction so was often seen at the local hardware store where supplies and inspiration were it's most valuable exports.  The peddler of these wares?  Reggie.

Now Reggie was a very nice man and helped Juanita get her household in order.  They developed such a rapport that they exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch even after Juanita's projects were done.  Well some time passed and in April Juanita received a call from Reggie,

"Ay, Juanita?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"This Reggie from the hardware store!"

"Oh hey.  Umm, how are you?"

"I'm good, good."

"Alright."

"Yeah."

I'll spare you the rest of their scintillating conversation, but know that it ended with a very awkward invitation to Nina's birthday party later that month.  She didn't hear from him again until the day of the party where he calls a total of three times,

"Hey Nita, wha'ts up?  This Reggie from the hardware store!"

"Oh, hey Reggie."

"Yeah, I was just letting you know I was still coming."

"Okay, see you soon."

***

"Hey Nita, this Reggie!  Hey, do I need to bring anything?"

"Nope, just yourself."

"Alright, I'll see you soon then."

"Okay Reggie.  Bye."

***

"Hey girl, this Reggie!  Hey, what's the dress code?"

"Reggie, I don't care, just wear whatever."

"Oh!  Alright, I'll be there in just a few minutes."

Do I have to tell you that he didn't show up?  Good, I'm glad you followed along with that. The next day Juanita received a call from Reggie saying essentially that he was not at the party last night.  Juanita confirmed his absense and after a slight silence bid our Reggie adieu.

So a couple of months pass and Juanita receives the following call:

"Hey Juanita, remember me?  It's Reggie from the hardware store!"

"Oh, hey Reggie.  It's been a while, how are you?"

"Not good."

And our Reggie was indeed not good.  Evidently his mother was on oxygen and either ran out (yeah), or the machine broke.  The details of this problem aren't important, what is important is that it evidently cost $110 to fix.  How do we know this my dear readers?  Well, it's how much he asked Juanita for.. naturally.

"Reggie, you don't have any friends or family that could help you with this?"

"Huh?"

"You don't have any friends or family that could help you with this?"

"What, now?"

"YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY FRIENDS, OR FAMILY, THAT CAN HELP YOU IN THIS ENDEAVOR?"

"Aw, naw, they beefin'."

"To the point that they're going to let your mama die over it?"

*click*

A few days later Juanita receives a text message at work:

"hey nita. sry bout te other day.  my fon was all f$##@ up.  anyhoe i dont need $110, just $75 when do you get off?"

Now Nina has told me that she never uses text messaging, but sometimes necessity outweighs force of habit.  She redied her thumbs on the keys of her phone and typed the following:

"Reggie.  I cannot give you the help you need.  But I will pray for you."

That's my girl.  Keeping crackheads at bay one hardware store worker at a time.