Snowbirds

This is the lull before the storm, a period of quiet before the Snowbirds rock into Florida for the winter. It's locals only at the moment, but before long there will be Michiganders doing U-turns all over, and Illinoisans in vast caravanserais of Recreational Vehicles all over I-75.

[Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October pronounced Recreational Vehicle the best way ever, in that Rrrrrrrussian accent of his, every syllable e nun ci a ted, every R rrrrrrolled.]

The lull means quiet times at The Boss's Limousine service. Last night I did my first job in ages, collecting three youngish Chicagoan women from an area airport. While two argued the point about one of their bags still sitting at O'Hare, I got chatting to the third. (BTW, budget airlines mean budget baggage handling. Why don't you understand you get what you pay for?)

After a while, I realized that her half of the conversation was slightly off-centre, as if she wasn't understanding me. I put it down to flight fatigue, until on our way out to the car I saw that she was wearing hearing aids.

Many moons ago I wrote about imperfections in women, and how attractive they are. Whether that is because it makes them appear vulnerable - or the corollary of that, makes men feel protective - I'm not sure. Either way, there was a noticeable warming of my feeling towards her.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if I wanted to chase her romantically, but her minor hearing problem did change my attitude. I even let her smoke in the limo, an indulgence sure to rile The Boss.

Sheesh, I'm a soft touch.





Technorati: Deaf, Snowbirds, Limousine, Indulgence.