The "Old Fart" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Working on the summer printing requests at the school district where I used to teach.  Since 1968 I have been printing hall passes, purchase orders, library tablets, stationery and envelopes, and just about any other small item that the school district needs to operate throughout the school year.  I complete my task in the graphic arts room of the high school in the Manheim Township School District located in Neffsville, PA.  When I was a teacher at the high school it was an easy chore,  since I was in the graphic arts room all day long.  Now that I am retired it usually means that I need to get most of the jobs finished in the summer months when there isn't a class in the room.  The current graphic arts teacher isn't interested in the in-house printing, so I asked if I could continue to do the printing, and they were more then willing to allow me to do so.  The end of summer vacation is fast approaching and I am scurrying to complete all the tasks that need to be done before the room is filled with students once again.  The secretary in the high school office gave me a list and samples of what she needed for next school year.  I finished the majority of the projects and assumed her order was just about complete.  Then the phone rang a few days ago and she asked if she ever emailed me the form for the August electronic newsletter.  The school mails a post card to all the student households informing the families of the newsletter that they can access on the school's website.  Cheaper to mail a simple postcard than a large newsletter.  I told her I don't remember ever seeing the postcard and she better email it to me again so I can quickly print it and have it ready for mailing.  A few hours later I opened my email at home and found both sides of the 4-up postcard on my computer screen (4-up means that there are 4 copies of the card on the same piece of paper that will be cut into four cards after printing).  Tried to open it and struck out.  Dona uses a PC while I have an Apple and at times I can't open some of the files she sends me.  No problem though, since my wife also uses a PC where she works.  I forwarded Dona's email to my wife and asked if she could print it and bring it home with her.  That is, I thought I forwarded it to my wife.  My email to her read: Hi Dear, Can you print both of these for me.  Thanks, Lov U.  When she arrived home I asked her where the copies where that she printed for me.  "I never got any email from you," she said.  OK, now who did I send it to?  Shortly I got a message on my monitor that I had mail.  Opened it and it read:  I'll be in on Monday and will print them for you.  Luv you TOO! :) Dona.  Calling the secretary "Dear" and telling her "Lov U" isn't going over too big with my wife or Dona's husband.  I quickly sent an email back to her explaining: I wondered who I sent that to when my wife came home and didn't get my email!  Hope your husband didn't get upset!  Bing!  A return email read:  HAHA - you mean you don't love me?!  HA  I thought you were joking around anyway cuz we had emailed back and forth about the postcard several times  ha ha.  My husband wouldn't get mad anyway.  :)  So, I thought I better show the couple of rounds of correspondence with Dona to my wife to make sure she understands and doesn't get angry with me.  She laughed and said, "What would a young girl want with an old fart like you anyway?"  "Thanks, Hon," I said to her.  After a good laugh we let it go.  Today when I stopped by to get my printouts from Dona I stuck my head in her office and said, "Hi Dear!"  We both laughed as she handed me the copies and I was out the door.   I know ...... you just had to be there!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.