Rachael and The Stinky Rose

"A Rose By Any Other Name..."

Today, we had a yard sale.  It was an incredible family affair.  The kids sold tons of stuff, we sold tons of stuff and it was a great day.

Twice a year, our entire neighborhood (Oak Hills) has a huge yard sale.  This year, around 50 families participated.  There were deals to be had everywhere.  I went to a few of my neighbor's yard sales and talked with several residents, and we're not sure if anyone from outside the neighborhood ever even comes to these yard sales.  The suspicion is that we basically just trade items from one house in the neighborhood to another. 

This is great until you see your friend's wife at a neighborhood BBQ and she starts to talk to you.

"Hey- Good to see you!  Nice shirt, by the way.  My husband has one just like it."  and then you have to explain that he actually doesn't have a shirt just like it any more because you bought it from him at the last yard barter.  Which is one of the reasons, among many others I assure you, that one should never buy their underwear at a yard sale. 

Our neighborhood has a tradition.  At the end of the day, Goodwill vans and trucks can be seen everywhere.  Around 3 PM, all the residents start taking all of their unsold treasures to the street and Goodwill takes it away.  Goodwill gets some great stuff, we get a tax deduction, and everyone is happy. 

Each year, it's kind of fun to watch the race that develops.  People start placing their junk treasures out at the street shortly before Goodwill gets there.  This leaves a narrow window of opportunity for people to come by and get the deal of the day- Everything they want for free.

While my wife assures me that she was not officially entered in this Scavenger Race, all I know is she raced off down the street minutes in front of a Goodwill truck.  A few minutes later, she came back, somewhat breathless with excitement.

She found a box-springs and mattress for Ben, our youngest.  His current mattress has definitely seen better days, and she found a Sealy box-springs and mattress in great shape.  She swooped in, as any good scavenger is known to do, and bought it from them, just as Goodwill was loading the last of their stuff into their truck.  Two minutes later and she'd have been too late and they'd have been $5 poorer.

She told me about the great deal and asked me if I'd go pick it up.  I was pretty happy about this, as well, and headed down the road to the address she gave me.  She told me it was on 1234 Century Oak, which is right around the corner from our house.  I went down there, and turned left, but the street addresses did not match.  I turned around and crossed our street, keeping my eyes open for the sought after address. 

It did not exist.

When I turned left off of our street, the addresses were all too small.  When I turned around and went on the other side of our street, the addresses were all 5 digits.

I called Rachael.  Now, since Rachael has lost the last several cell phones she has had, and is currently without one, I hoped against hope that she'd hear the home phone, since she was outside watching over our yard sale.

Apparently, my little prayer worked, because Rachael answered.  I was sure to say hi before she had even finished with her 'hello' to avoid her hanging up on me.

I told her I needed to confirm the address.  She repeated the numbers and told me again that it was on Century Oak.  I told her that the address did not exist.

She sounded a little exasperated and told me that she was absolutely positive it did, as she'd just been there.  I asked her if she was sure it was on Century Oak.  She said yes- absolutely sure.

I told her that Century Oak is the street right next to where we live, and I wanted to be sure that's the road she is talking about. 

She said 'no' and said it was right off of the road that enters our neighborhood from Hwy. 156.  She tried to convince me that I just needed to go to the other end of Century Oak and I'd find the right address. 

Now, I know our neighborhood pretty well, and I knew that Century Oak did not go where she was talking about. 

I began driving to the area she described.

I soon found the address.  The only problem was that it was on Canyon Oak, not Century Oak.

Not a huge difference, I guess.  But enough to ensure we were never going to upgrade Ben's mattress.  And the funniest part of it all was how absolutely positive Rachael was that it was Century Oak. Positive.  Completely so. 

Century - Canyon

Canyon- Century

They sound almost the same.  But in this case, the name was more than just a name.  It was an entirely different street.

Below is Shakespeare's lines from a little over 400 years ago about what's in a name, immediately followed by the Life With Rachael-Inspired version.  Enjoy!

From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1594:


JULIET:

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

Rachael's Inspired Version:

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art the street, though not the Century.
What's Canyon?  it is neither Century, nor Charter,
Nor Cathedral, nor any other Oak,
Belonging to Oak Hills.  O, please give me the right name!
What's in a name?  that which we call a Canyon
By any other name would ensure being lost;
So Canyon Oak, were it not Canyon Oak call'd
Retain that address at any cost,
Keep that title.  Canyon Oak, retain they name,
And with that name that is a part of thee,
I will find thee myself.