Heck-a-doody-dandy!!

My favourite exclamation these days is the above mentioned heck-a-doody-dandy...

Just where it came from I do not know, but it comes out in many variations depending on the experience, mood and intensity of the moment.

Which brings me to an instance when it was used in a slightly more expressive moment. Yesterday I went a-wandering and had not long got off the bus on the return leg. I was a little distracted with the thoughts in my head - does Pam have tomatoes at home or not and should I go into the crappy little corner store that sells wilted things at inflated prices. I did go in and sure enough the wilted and pale vegetables were so uninspiring, I left without any tomatoes.

Last chance saloon presented itself across the road in the form of an even worse little crappy store with things that didn't quite rank as vegetables, but I am getting ahead of myself here.

To get to the store I had to cross a road. So I awaited the little white man (they don't have green men here and I feel it's a little racist every time I cross at the order of a little white man) and proceeded to cross when he said it was safe.

I heard a toot - a loud and aggressive honk - and looked around to see where it was coming from. I couldn't see the offender so I carried along on my merry tomatoe obsessed way.

Next thing I know a car zooms around the corner behind me so fast I nearly didn't see it - but I could feel it! I was in the process of trying to clear my head of tomatoes, and establish what just happened when I became conscious of a siren in the distance. In the meantime a woman was just stepping out from my side of the road to cross to the other side.

In a flash of enlightenment I realised that there was a car chase going on and I had just narrowly missed being run over by the followed. I also realised that the woman was about to step in front of the follower, so I yelled 'WATCH OUT!' and I guess at the same time she clicked as she took to her heels and got to the other side very quickly.

We both stood on our respective corners looking bewildered. And there I stood until I was able to mutter 'heck-a-doody-dandy' and continue on my way. Actually I said it a few moments earlier and the first word was not heck...

PS Pam already had tomatoes at home so all was well in the end.