I'm a human alarm clock....

Or so I thought. Mary (my youngest) and her husband Brian had to go to Baltimore for a funeral and Mary asked if C.J. (her 14 year old stepson) could stay with me as he'd rather not go to the funeral. Of course I said yes....and I went and purchased the appropriate snack food (cheesecake, coffee cake, cookies, soda) and when she asked if I had an alarm clock I proudly said, "I don't need an alarm clock...I'm a human alarm clock Mary and I'm always up before 6:00 a.m. I'll get C.J. up don't worry about it. Fortunately, they didn't buy that line and brought an alarm clock with them when they came down. So you can imagine my shock, dismay and embarrassment when I was awakened this morning at 7:10 by a pounding on my front door...C.J. returning from the bus stop having missed the bus. Poor soul didn't even have breakfast...crap! Anyway, I said, "did you eat" and he said, No so I said, "O.K., get your oatmeal ready and you can eat it in the car on the way to school. We've got plenty of time to get you there so don't worry.." and off we went in the car. I did get him there in plenty of time and knew I had to let Mary know I screwed up. Then I get in the office and get a call from Sara asking, "Did you know Roy is in the hospital where he has been since yesterday? Ms. Pat called and told Mary yesterday." Which I didn't know since no one bothered to tell me! Roy and Pat were tenants of the hotel for years and years and years. They came down and stayed here for a month every summer. Then their daughter went to college at Salisbury University and they decided to sell their home in Baltimore and moved down here to be close to her. While Roy was a guest here he would go out each morning and clean up the property (which we didn't realize for the longest time..I'm talking years...my parents thought I was doing it and I thought my mother was doing it until Roy came and asked me for a shovel and when I asked what he needed it for he told me he used it while he was cleaning up the grounds...and when I asked what grounds and he told me I was truly embarrassed since he had been doing for a few years at that point.) Anyway
when he said they purchased a home in Mystic Harbor which is on the other side of the bridge I figured we'd see him no more. But he has come in here to work every single day of the year without fail winter and summer and....he does it for no pay. Yes, that's what I said, he does it for no pay! He refuses payment....every year. And he's a great worker and can do just about anything. I don't know what we'll do if anything happens to Roy, because I really depend upon him at this point. So for me not to know he's been taken to the hospital is a big deal to me. I noticed his car wasn't here yesterday and again this morning but I thought he was working on new doors at his house (yes he takes work home...the man's a gem)...anyway, I'm a little distraught at this point. I called Mary and questioned why didn't let me know this information and she tried throwing Sara under the bus...and of course Sara is throwing Mary under the bus, but I think it's Vernon that I'm throwing under the bus because Mary yelled out to him (with Mary sitting in the next room) to let him know Roy was in the hospital and she assumed (uh, oh) Sara heard it. Vernon though, didn't even think to say anything to Sara. So we're saying it's Vernon's fault. Enough said! Vernon's fault it is!