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The day I met Viz had been a strange one. Earlier in the afternoon, I had parked my car in Hillcrest on a side street (because goodness knows I NEVER pay for parking in Hillcrest). I opened my door a few inches and SMASH! Some guy rammed into my door and was thrown from his bicycle. He was able to get up and walk, but he had broken some skin on his back. (I should point out that he was not wearing a helmet. However, he did not hit his head.)
The guy was upset about what happened, but he didn't exactly try to blame me (but he did hint that I needed to look before opening my car door). He asked if I had a towel or something. I actually did have one in the hatchback. He wiped himself with it. His bicycle didn't seem to be damaged, so he went on his way.
After he left, I tried to close the door on my car. He had struck it with such force that it actually bent the front edge of the door into the side fender. No matter how hard I pushed and pulled, I couldn't get it to latch. I took it to my usual mechanic, but he said I needed to take it to a body shop. It was late in the afternoon on a Saturday and I knew I wouldn't be able to find anyone to work on it before Monday.
I had to figure out a way to keep the door closed. I had a long piece of thin rope. I was able to string the rope through the handle and the door latch to keep it closed. However, it wasn't secure. Someone could easily cut the rope and open the car door. I was going to be a nervous wreck before Monday rolled around.
Later that evening, I got a phone call. It was from a woman named Viz, who had placed a personal ad in the Reader that I had responded to. After we talked for a few minutes, she decided she wanted to meet me. She didn't live very far away, so she thought we could get together in about an hour at the Denny's nearby. I was thrilled about this. Normally, I have to have a few phone conversations before I get to meet the woman.
She told me she would be wearing a white shirt and a lime-green skirt. I went over to Denny's. She was already there. The moment I saw her, I thought she was the most attractive woman I had ever met through the personal ads. But I doubt she felt that way about me.
We went inside Denny's and ordered water. I asked her if she wanted something to eat. She really didn't. She wanted to go to this place called Zanzibar in Pacific Beach and check it out. I went to the pay phone, looked it up in the phone book and got the address. Then we had to get in my car. I had to get in through the passenger side first, getting myself over the stick shift. I told her about what had happened earlier in the day, but I could tell she was NOT impressed by my mode of transportation.
I tried what I could to make her laugh, but she almost seemed like she had no sense of humor. We found a parking space. She got out and then I had to climb out of the car. We went into Zanzibar, which was a coffee house. We ordered something to drink and sat down. There was a live band playing. It was an acoustic group consisting of three people in their 40s. They were playing original material, which I always appreciated. However, no one was really paying attention to them.
The one thing I know we discussed was how she had gotten into trouble as a juvenile. She had run off with her boyfriend and they were eventually found by the cops. I chimed in that people say nothing can happen to you if you break the law and you're under 18, but there was really a lot that could be legally done. She said, "Yeah, I know about that."
At one point, Viz said she was going to step outside to have a cigarette. "Can I come with you?" "No, you just stay here with the table." I didn't trust this scenario. After a few minutes, I got up and poked my head outside. She was there, smoking by herself. But she saw me spying on her. She didn't say anything after she got back, but we really didn't talk much. We watched the acoustic trio playing and decided to go home.
I dropped her off at Denny's. She said she would call me. I didn't know whether or not to believe her. As it turned out, she never did call even though I really hoped she would.
However, I ran into her about a month later. I was in line at Baltimore Bagels in Hillcrest and she was working behind the counter. She didn't see me. But the next time I went in, she did wait on me. She smiled when she saw me. I didn't ask her a lot of questions outside of "How are you doing?" She took and filled my order and that was it. I never saw her again. I should have told her I got my car fixed.
Yes, I had repair work done. The Monday after the date, I went to a body shop. I told them that all they needed to do was get the door to close all the way. I did not need to ever open it again (because I was certain I could not afford to have it completely fixed). I just planned to get in and out of the passenger side for as long as I drove the car. It turned out they were able to fix it so I could open and close the door. And it only cost $50. That was a real bargain. I have to admit that it didn't look that nice, because they basically pounded it back into shape without doing a complete finish, but I was happy to have it functioning again.
That car would not be able to stand in my way of getting a girlfriend again.
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