In Eckleburg's Eyes - 5/14/2008

Tuesday was a great day as I got to see both of my “anonymous” factions, Couple Y and Couple X.

WRK spent much of the day getting her car serviced at both Fisher Tire and Toyota of Knoxville. As she waited for her tires to be rotated, I met she and SMA at Calhoun’s in Turkey Creek.

Though I have eaten at the franchise often, I have never eaten at this particular (very large) location. The Bearden Calhoun’s is the only one I have eaten at that serves twiced baked potatoes. As such, it is my favorite. Other than having only once baked (half baked?) potatoes, it was a great experience.

WRK is well. The following day (May 14) was to be her last day at Dynasty Kitchen & Bath. I do not hink she ate though. This is a photo of her leftovers. She swears that she ate at least one of her chicken fingers though I do not believe her. She had so many leftovers that the complimentary bread could not even fit into her box.

We discussed my phone issues over lunch. My cell phone randomly shuts off and always after I answer incoming calls (not outgoing). I have a Verizon phone. Any ideas? Right now we are operating under the assumption that I carry a dormant illness that infects only technology, cell phones in particular. This is based upon my horrible history with phones.

In another cell phone issue, if I am texting using the T9 function and a word is spelled, but not the one I wish, how do I scroll for more options? For instance, if I intend "food" and the phone produces "done," can I use something other than the ABC function to amend the text? I haved filed this under "Questions I never saw my self asking".

On Tuesday night, JTH and I met Couple X at the Applebees in Oak Ridge. We not only met there because I am attempting to eat at every Applebees on the planet, but also because my father obtained $50 in certificates at his Kidney Foundation fundraiser on May 3rd. A free meal was certainly worth the drive to Oak Ridge.

While picking JTH up, I checked on his mother, still recovering from knee replacement surgery (4/15). She is progressing. Reduced swelling has almost made her left knee symmetrical with her right and her range of motion is at 130°, which was her ultimate goal. She resumes work next week. She did try to do too much on Mother’s Day (5/11) and paid for it. She also sleeps anytime she closes her eyes which her doctor assessed as her body’s way of telling her to rest. On hearing this, her husband, CEH, asked her how she could possibly rest any more than she does as she sits in her chair twelve hours a day. He then told her to get up regardless of what her body told her and even suggested she go cut the grass. CEH has always been one of my heroes.

I had intended to drive all four of us, but a failure to communicate left Couple X waiting on us at the restaurant for some time. Even so, it was a good Applebees experience. Our waiter, Dewayne Leftwich (DJL), is JTH’s boss’ son-in-law and JTH watches his child daily in the daycare. Hence, our service was good.

Both halves of couple X had big news. Ms. X proudly discussed two new toys - a metallic red (technically “ultra red pearl”) Mitsubishi Eclipse (her Nissan Xterra had high payments and guzzled gas) and a new dog named Hemingway. Mr. X begins working with his father at B & T Distributing Co. on Monday. We are hoping its nearby offices will allow us to see him more.

Couple X has been watching a lot of the NBA playoffs and though she tends to read during the viewing, Ms. X is now even to drop some players’ names into the discussion. They have also been attending movies, as usual. Mr. X panned What Happens in Vegas (the new Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy) as he was “slightly intoxicated” and still did not laugh at any of it.

JTH was dejected most of the night and after dinner finally revealed that he had learned from her MySpace page that CDM is now engaged to her ex-boyfriend, David (D). She and JTH were linked as recently as Sunday (5/11, two days earlier). It is debatable whether or not she actually cheated on him in an issue similar to the eternal Ross-Rachel "We were on a break" debate. (Read: "Friends" reference.)

The ex-boyfriend lives in a trailer park in Powell, or at least he did. He was facing a possible eviction. (Evidently, there are park rangers for trailer parks. Who knew?) He had gotten into a wreck while drunk driving and suffered severe injuries. Highly responsible, he blamed CDM for putting him in the mental frame to do so. Naturally, he did not have any insurance and is also $27,000 in debt from the incident. JTH is unsure if he is even employed. The unfortunate automobile experience made the two realize how much they missed each other. As sentimental as this tale is, I am sure a Hallmark movie is forthcoming. I for one hope she believes in short engagements so that he can put her in his rearview mirror as soon as possible.

Can you see why everyone, especially me, rejected this relationship? No, I did not say, “I told you so.” I still hated to see my friend hurt. I also hate that his involvement with her (and admittedly my utter rejection of it) has distanced us.

To all Christians out there, use JTH as a cautionary tale and before dating read II Corinthians 6:14!

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (II Corinthians 6:14, NASB)

In more pleasant news, AOL has done a “Where are They Now feature on the cast of the television series “Saved By The Bell.” It is accessible to all (not just AOL subscribers) here. Some notes of interest:

• Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Zack Morris”) will be starring in a new TNT legal drama series called “Raising the Bar” created by Emmy-winner Steven Bochco. TNT released a press release on January 24th announcing the purchase of ten episodes. Gosselaar will stars as Jerry Kellerman, an idealistic public defender who will stop at nothing to help those who cannot help themselves. It will debut later this year.
  
• Chattanooga native Dennis Haskins (“Mr. Belding”) recently posted on his MySpace page that he's "working on an album of karaoke favorites." Seriously. You can watch him sing karaoke here.
  
• Future stars who appeared as extras on the shows included Eric Dane, Denise Richards, Casper Van Dien, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras (Pete’s wife), and Scott Wolf. Casper Van Dien?