Skip to main content

Ramona

 June 4-5th

Denver - Toledo

Ramona whipped up to the curb in front of our condo at 6:15 a.m. sharp in her large, white van with Green Ride impressed upon the side. She jumped out from the driver’s seat with her steel-gray ponytail swinging behind her. Ramona grabbed our luggage with a grunt and a guttural exclamation, probably some swear words in German. I am not sure. Slight in stature she seemed too small for the heavy luggage. My 48.2 pound bag might be half of her weight. I am suddenly embarrassed about the heft of my suitcase. Although smaller, and cuter than last year’s suitcase, it is still almost 50 pounds. How I did that I may never know. 

Ramona was talking as she jumped down from the van and all the while she loaded our luggage, between exclamations and swearing. Her thick German accent did not slow her down or seem to impair the stream of consciousness emitting from Ramona. Her driving skills definitely reflected her German upbringing. The twenty-passenger van teetered as we whipped around corners, slightly top heavy. Despite the early hour, the June sun peeped fiercely over the mountains, making the van uncomfortably warm. Another passenger, a soft-spoken woman, gently asked for more air, which launched Ramona into a new direction in conversation. Apparently Ramona is not very impressed with the quality of vans her company employs. They lack either air conditioning or heat. “We won’t know for sure if this van has air until we get on the I25,” she explained. “It’s a gamble everyday which van you are assigned to. We just won’t know if we won or lost for a few more minutes.” She keeps a blanket under her seat at all times just in case. “Who’s in charge?” She demanded. “Not me.”

We spun into the park-and-ride to grab more passengers. Ramona assigned our seats perfunctorily, letting us know how things are run because she IS in charge of this. Nic and I scrunched together in the back corner, hoping not to be moved closer to Ramona. Neither of us had had enough caffeine for this yet.




A tired mother, with hair still wet from the shower, smelling of cigarettes, shooed her son aboard the van. A conflict ensued around the absence of a suitcase. Ramona was at first indignant the suitcase was present, and then horrified to learn that the suitcase in question was in fact not where it was supposed to be.

“Unacceptable! Completely unprofessional!” She fumed. “However, see? We are still leaving early. That’s how I roll! We are the first van to leave the park and ride.”

In no time we were sailing down the I25 with Ramona leading us in breathing exercises to help us calm down and prepare for our day. Once we were adequately calmed, she began detailing the various attributes of life in Germany, which she would like you to know is better than America. A lot better. The laws around driving and cars, for example, are much better. The roads, the culture, the towns, villages, and coffee are all better. The only problem with German, Ramona explained was small amounts of ice and there are no free refills on soda in Germany. 

“Who’s in charge? She wants to know. “Not me.”

Ramona barreled into DIA and dumped us on the curb with the same gusto and swear words she swooped us up with. As she zoomed away, Nic reached for his ibuprofen. Just like that she was gone.

Ramona was the most interesting part of our day yesterday. We ran through Philadelphia airport, barely making our flight. We were served some horrendous meal for dinner and again for breakfast and then we landed bright an early in Madrid, Spain.

It turns out I probably need more Ramona in my life. She is, at least, wondering who is in charge. I am wandering through life barely picking up on the fact that someone (namely me) is supposed to be in charge. For example, if you book a flight for June 4 to land on June 5th, and book a hotel and a rental car for the 4th. They actually expect you to show up on the day you said you would, June 4th - not the day after. I thought I had gotten ahead of this mistake, but lo, I had not. We rented and paid for our car back in March. We went to pick up that car today and discovered that we lost that reservation. So, we rented another car today. Dear Spain, you’re welcome for all I am doing to stimulate your economy.

After twenty-four hours without sleep we rented a car, who I have named, you guessed it, Ramona. We loaded Ramona up and headed to Toledo. 

You may be wondering, who’s in charge? Ramona. Ramona’s in charge around here. Not me. 

-



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Fab Days in Florida - Tampa

Let me preface this post/trip with this disclaimer: We are not Florida people. (Nothing against Florida people. I know some Florida people and I love them. I just have a complicated relationship with Florida). We are, however, Scottish people. When we learned the Scots would be in Florida this spring, we made the decision to go to Florida. I had never been, and Nic had not been for years and years. So, another adventure was in store for us. Nic and I awoke early (WAY early) on Wednesday morning to catch a flight to Tampa, where we planned to meet up with our Scottish family for five fab days of Florida.  Things at work have been hard for both of us, so we came to this holiday so ready to relax, and very thankful that Paddy is an excellent trip planner. We travelled from Tampa to Kissimmee, where their daughter was playing tennis. Our afternoon was spent lying by the pool, soaking up the sun, and quickly catching up. We planned to pop down to Cocoa Beach to see the launches. Paddy h...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Blind Leading the Blind Tour ~ June 2026 ~ Coming Soon

  Who : This gang (minus my dad, who has informed us he is never leaving the country again).  Only my sister does not have r etinitis pigmentosa , and my dad, who is not going.  Not to disparage my in-laws, Jennie, Sharon, Scott, Mae, and my husband, Nic, are all coming, too. They can all see, too. It just sounds more dramatic to tell you the blind people are going. It seems anti-climatic to include people who can see. Still, the blind are almost the majority. When : June 2026 Where : Paris, France Why : Because we have to go while we can still see. This is the first official post of The Blind Leading the Blind Tour because although we have been dreaming about this,   WE ARE OFFICIALLY GOING. Consider this the official announcement of The Blind Leading The Blind Tour. Included in this trip are seven full days with this cast of characters (minus Dad) and their better halves. Nic and I will have a Side Quest. Each of my siblings will have their own side quests, bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

2026 ~ Word of the Year

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.” –Desmond Tutu In my annual tradition of choosing a word for the year, I found myself this morning reflecting on last year's word: Well . Unfortunately, last year (yesterday and the 364 yesterdays before that) was a bit of a train wreck.  In a brief review and update of some of the goals and ambitions I put forth last January: We did not go to Vietnam or Alaska. Neither of those were real goals, more manifestations for the future.  We did focus on the house. We updated my office, installed new HVAC for the house, painted the living room, and we are in the process of redoing the downstairs bathroom to practice for the upstairs bathroom. When I say, 'we,' I mean Nic. I have stood by and nodded throughout these projects and consulted on colors. Nic has done all of the work. I worked hard on getting back to running my usual mileage. I improved my overall health. I am proud of the work I have done physicall...
Post a Comment
Read more