narrative of a stressful morning
.... Again, he yells all he wants, but the kids are already at the bus stop and his wife is next door with the neighbors. Ralph runs out of the cold shower and looks desperately in his closet. The suit that he had planned to wear is nowhere to be found, and he solemnly figures, must still be at the cleaners. It does not look promising for Ralph. So, he runs over next door to pester his wife to do him a favor and iron his shirt because he does not know the first thing about doing such a thing. As they walk in the front door, the odor of burning cotton is overwhelming. She sees the iron face down, burning the shirt. Out of desperation, Ralph starts wailing, but his wife curtly reminds him that it will not fix or accomplish anything. Regardless, he starts whining some more and succeeds in making his wife a little more irritated. She irons another one of his shirts and gives it to him. Then, noticing his stomach growling, he grabs a banana, and makes a quick cup of cold coffee. Just as he is about to put the mug to his lips, Sandy, their ever boisterous cocker spaniel, jumps up in his lap. Suddenly, the entire cup of coffee is drenching his pants. Yelling for his wife, she already noticed the spill and has a new pair of pants in her hands. He switches the pants and finishes his banana. As he is in the bathroom brushing his teeth and combing his hair, he notices a pink rash starting to work its way up his neck. He brushes it off as a side effect of his ever stressful morning. Sarcastically, he exclaims, "I knew this day was going to be good!” He grabs his briefcase and the finance reports he was working on the night before in preparation for his meeting. Ralph kisses his wife goodbye, and tells her that he is sorry and that he appreciates everything she does for him. He heads for the car and without realizing, sets his briefcase on top of the roof. Frustratingly, he realizes that he does not have his car keys. He quickly runs back inside, and to his surprise, his wife has them dangling from her finger. He kisses her once more, hopefully for the last time and leaves. He glances at the radio ...