Thursday, April 09, 2009

Gnome alone in a small world after all.

My house is old enough that my doorbell isn't hardwired, it's wireless.  Which means I've gotten used to it ringing once in a while with nobody at the door.  No ding & ditch, because it's happened when I was sitting on the front porch.  Probably someone opening their garage door on the same frequency.  I dunno.  Anyway, about noon today the doorbell goes off and by the time I get there there's nobody at the door.  Not unusual, except for the garden gnome sitting on the porch table looking right at me.  I started looking around to see who had left it there, couldn't see anyone anywhere and thought they got out of there pretty quick.  Then I started to wonder if it was left there a while ago, and the doorbell ringing had nothing to do with it.  Hmm, weird.  So, I have no idea when it showed up.  I don't remember seeing it there yesterday, but I usually leave the house out the back door and might have missed it.  For all I know it's been sitting there all week and I just never noticed it.  No note, no indication who left it there, like he just walked up on his own and decided to move in.  Curious.
..... In class yesterday I was talking about living in Seattle for 6 months when I was in 6th grade.  My professor overheard and said that she went to Eckstein Middle school when she was living there, and was curious about if I went to the same school.  I couldn't remember, but did remember that I had to walk up and down a few hills to get there, one of which we called "slug hill".  So, thanks to Google maps, we looked up Seattle and the school, I figured out the general area we lived in and decided it had to be the same school, because of where it was at compared to where we lived.  One more great Google device, street view, and it was confirmed - at least it looked really familiar.  So, what are the odds that 2 people raised on the east coast, now living in Salt Lake City would have attended the same middle school in Seattle a decade and a half apart?  I don't know.  That was a rhetorical question.
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14 comments:

A Paperback Writer said...

Random gnomes showing up on doorsteps. I love it.
I've heard of people being flamingoed before, but never gnomed. Nor have I heard of anyone doorbell ditching and leaving a gnome behind -- flaming bags of poop, yes, but gnomes, no.
Maybe it was from freethegnomes -- an escapee from gnome slavery. (great website, go check it out).
In any case, finding a gnome there is far better than finding a solicitor -- even if the gnome doesn't match your southwestern theme very well.

Max Sartin said...

Yeah, gnomes aren't anything I would have bought for myself, and if someone had just given it to me I would have wondered why. But the way it showed up and not knowing from whom it came gives it an air of mystique that makes it one cool gift. Not the gnome, but the mystery surrounding it. So, I'm gonna keep it, leave him right where he showed up until he gets tired of hanging around and takes off.
I laughed so hard the first time I saw the freethegnomes website, freakin' funny people out there.

A Paperback Writer said...

This is also a supremely funny site:

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Max Sartin said...

The FAQ (frequently asked questions) section is particularly funny. Loved the question about the Sasquatches.

A Paperback Writer said...

I love the photo section. :)

Hey, can you give me a call when you get time? I have a general computer question for you.

Max Sartin said...

Nope, not gonna call you.

Max Sartin said...

Well, I just tried to call you, and went striaght to voicemail. Guess you're on the internet right now. Give me a call when you're done.

A Paperback Writer said...

So your resolve not to call me lasted a whole 8 minutes? whoop ti do. :)

Max Sartin said...

Well, it took me 8 minutes to realize you'd keep bugging me until I called :)

A Paperback Writer said...

ouch!

Max Sartin said...

You know I'm just kidding, right? You are definitly not the pestering type!

A Paperback Writer said...

Oh, but I can be! (Be afraid; be very afraid.)
;)
Yes, I received your apology. And you got brownie points for apologizing even though I knew you were joking anyway.

Max Sartin said...

Good, I figured you'd know I was joking, but there's just no "Insert Sarcasm" button when blogging. Somebody ought to invent it.

A Paperback Writer said...

I like it. An insert sarcasm button. cool.