He ate an egg salad sandwich for lunch—his favorite. So the day was going well. He decided to drive into town to get a couple books from the university library.
He turned right out of the parking lot. The highway into town was just a couple blocks away … um, except that it was actually a half mile in the other direction (strike 1). No problem, he thought, he’d just U-turn at the light … um, except that the traffic at that light is always busy, and it’s a dangerous place to U-turn (strike 2).
Whatever. It was just a mile or so out of his way, … um, except for the several red lights he had to sit at (strike 3). Still, before long he was on the highway.
On the other side of the river, he took the Fifth Street exit … um, except that to get to the university he wanted Fifteenth (strike 4). No problem, he thought, he’d just be patient and drive thru town, … um, except more red lights (strike 5).
When he got to campus, he found a parking meter in the place where he usually parks. He got out of his car and was about to feed the meter when he decided to make sure that his university library guest card was still valid. (It was the beginning of the year, after all.) The card was had expired the week before (strike 6).
Now, to renew the card, you need a state library sharing card, and he had one … um, except that it also expired the week before (strike 7). Still, the main public library was not to far away, although as for that he had passed it on his slog thru town (strike 8).
So he got back into his car and drove off in the direction of the public library. He turned on Fifteenth Street and was merging left to turn onto Lamar when he … um … realized that the library is on Guadalupe not Lamar (strike 9). No problem, though, he just turned left and left again and then right and soon was pulling into a parking meter just feet from the main entrance to the main public library.
Inside they renewed his public library card and handed him a form to fill out for the state library sharing card. He filled out the form, and the woman took it and smiled and then looked up and said, “Oh, do you know we have a new policy for these cards, sir? We no longer issue them right away. We’ll mail you your new state library sharing card in about a week.” (Strike 10.)
Ten strikes and he was out. He smiled and said, “Thank you,” and folded his book list and put it into his pocket.
But that egg salad sandwich sure was tasty!