Hold the Pickles

While her 'take out' hamburger was bought and brought to a sizzle, she inquired as to the Hope Cafe's policy on check cashing.

Faith, the waitress, responded with a polite but firm, "We leave that to the banks."

Just then, Hiram, somewhat winded, caught up to them. "Anything to accomodate the lady," and he reached for her pink check payable to CASH for $65.00. Her name, according to the instrument, was Tranquil Waters. She asked if she needed further ID.

"Not at all," said Hiram. "What do they call you?"

"I'm Quila, rhymes with Godzilla, but I'm not a complete monster, despite being with IRS for three years." She smiled easily.

Josh ran up. "Remember me?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," she responded. "You are the crabby, cabby."

They all laughed.

_________________

Meanwhile, quirky Steve had slipped back into the kitchen, where he watched Wolf Blitzer read the news on TV. The NBC/WSJ poll found that among Republican voters, on March 1st, Mike Huckabee led with 25%; Mitt Romney followed with 21%; Newt got 13%and Ms. Palin garnered 12%. Ron Paul came in with 6%. Sadly, Hiram was not counted.

According to quirky Steve, there is a simple solution for Hiram. Like Huckabee, he should author a best-seller and host his own weekly variety show.