Mornings are tough some days at our house. They are much tougher when I do stupid things like stay up all night long watching old movies that I really liked back in the 80's and 90's. (Why DO they put all the good stuff on after my bedtime?) So last night I stayed awake watching re-broadcasts of a Turkish soap opera and an Egyptian soap opera that I had missed earlier in the evening. Then one of my favorite movies came on (Something to Talk About with Julia Roberts, Robert Duvall, Dennis Quaid and Kyra Sedgewick) and I watched it from beginning to end.
So chances are I'm not going to get the required rest when the movie ends at 5:30 a.m. and my alarm is set for 5:50 a.m. to get the boy to school on time. I just pulled a blanket over me and took a power nap on the couch. We actually got him to school on time. And I bought potatoes and got home by 7:15. Woohoo. Yay, me. I celebrated in the form of a nap until 10:30.
My daughter goes to school from 12:30 until 4:30 p.m. So we arrive half an hour late to pick up her brother and she's about forty-five minutes early for her classes. Whatever. Beats making 6 trips up and back each day, doesn't it? So she turned the television on while I was getting dressed and slugging coffee and some movie I've never seen before was on. Samiya called me out to the living room.
"Mom, what is that place they're climbing the fence to get into?"
"That's a junk yard, Honey."
"Wow. That is so cool. It's really clean for a garbage dump."
"Child, it's not a garbage dump. It's a junk yard. It's where they tow wrecked and broken down cars."
"They're very organized. Are all of them like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like stacked in that whole OCD way?"
"Some of them are just haphazardly tossed about but the best ones are organized. I never took you to a
junk yard when we lived in the states?"
"How would I know? We left when I was two."
"Oh, yeah."
"So why would you go to a junk yard?"
"Well, you know when stuff breaks on your car or you get in a wreck or you just need a really expensive part, instead of going to pay for a new one at a parts store you can call around to the junk yards near you and ask if they have the alternator or engine or door or fender or bumper to the same kind of car that you have and how much it is. And chances are you'll end up paying a good deal less."
"Oh. That is just the coolest thing I've ever seen."
"Your granddad and Uncle Tracy would be so proud to see those Southern roots exposed. I like junk yards because they're sort of the silver lining of a totaled car."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, once a car is wrecked so badly that the owner can't drive it anymore, it's towed off to the junk yard and the owner gets a new one after his insurance pays out, etc. But junk yards are sort of like a recycling center for vehicles and they help cut down on costs for people who need to repair their cars and it's a lucrative business for those who own the lot. I've always appreciated a good junk yard. It's nice to see another girl who does, as well."
"Mom, can we go now? I'm going to be late for school and I'm kind of over this whole emotional tie you seem to have with a dump for broken cars. I really only brought it up because I liked how they stacked them up. You're so embarrassing!"
Teenagers.
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