Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

The view from Wendy's World: ESP's gone south - permanently

My crystal ball is broken. It wouldnt be such a big deal, but its come at a really bad time because my ESP has apparently tuned in to the Home Shopping Network.

Heres how I know theres a problem.

I got a phone call the other day asking why I hadnt covered a specific event. Im not going to say what event because I dont want it to look like Im picking on someone, so stay with me while I address this discretely.

The conversation went something like this:

Wendy, why didnt you cover the dedication of the flower boxes?

There was a flower box dedication? I didnt know!

Of course there was. It happens every year at this time.

Ive been here just more than a year and I didnt cover it last year.

I know, we were wondering about that, too.

And so it went.

Turns out that this particular event is an annual thing and that it seems everyone just assumed that I would know it was happening. Whats really sad is that this was a bit bigger than a flower box dedication and I really would have covered it.

Whats actually happened is that many people think I just know when events are going on in the community. But look back to the very first sentence here.

MY CRYSTAL BALL IS BROKEN.

If you need further proof that its not working right, let me tell you about my trip across town Tuesday afternoon.

I hopped in my car to run out to the circus to take a few photos. I sat in the car for several minutes - first making a phone call then making sure I had all the camera equipment I needed.

Then the train came.

The first lesson I learned when I began work in Prescott was the frequency of the trains. That means that if you want to be on the other side of the tracks and the tracks are clear, cross immediately.

On Tuesday, I wasted several minutes before I started the car. My ignition and the bells at the crossing were simultaneous. But trains go fast and I knew itd only be a few minutes wait. So I drove to the southern crossing to be closer to my destination when the train was past.

Then the train stopped.

I waited several more minutes, then drove to the northern end of town where I could see that the tracks were clear and cars were crossing. And just as I crossed, the train started backing up. By the time I made it into traffic on Highway 67 and reached the southern crossing, it was also clear.

This is proof positive that my crystal ball and ESP are on the blink.

I have the crystal ball on my desk. Drop by and give it a shake to see if you can get anything other than the clouds Im seeing.

In the meantime, Im encouraging folks to call us. Let us know about events, happenings and get-togethers. I promise that as soon as my crystal ball is fixed, I wont need your help.