Blue Suede Shoes and Laundry Detergent

         With my laundry basket in my little red wagon, I was on a mission to the laundromat. This epic journey involved walking four blocks down Main Street without being accosted by any of the usual suspects. The usual suspects include, but are not limited to: the loud German Shepherd, the crazy old woman who lives in the duplex next to my apartment building, the very assertive hot dog vender, and the bratty teenage boy who often laughs at my little red wagon.
         I had worked out a system to avoid the previously mentioned interferences. I had a set of headphones which I wore, but did not plug into anything. This way, if anybody tried to avert me from my mission, I could normally pretend that I did not hear them. If this did not work, feigning illness was my backup plan.
         Today's journey to the laundromat was one of the more uneventful trips in the last few weeks - that German Shepherd was the only usual suspect that I encountered. I walked into the laundromat and checked the clock on the back wall. It was only four o'clock in the afternoon. I could most likely get all of my laundry done in two hours and have the rest of the evening to enjoy. There were only a few other people here today!
         I parked my little red wagon next to my favorite machine - the one in the back right corner. I could see anybody walking into the laundromat over the machines in the middle of the room, but it was difficult for anybody to see more of me than my eyes. I walked over to the soap dispenser and rummaged through my bag for quarters.
         As I was finding the quarters, I heard a boom of thunder that made me jump out of my sandals. I consequently fell over onto my rear end. Through the front windows I could see heavy sheets of rain pouring down, and the sky had turned quite dark. A man of close to forty walked over and held his hand out. He asked if I needed help getting off the floor.
         I accepted his aid and from a standing position was able to get a better look at him. He was wearing sunglasses and a white jacket and pant set with frills. His hair had enough gel in it to keep three supermodels happy for a week. Oh dear, I had found myself an Elvis impersonator. This laundromat brought in some interesting characters.
         I thanked the man for his help and was about to finish getting my soap when another crash of thunder and lightning came. This time, though, the lights all went out. With the lights going out, that meant the laundry machines would be out of order. I cursed out loud. I would have to wait for the storm to pass over before going home.
         I sat down on a chair near my favorite laundry machine. The Elvis impersonator did not miss a beat and sat down next to me. He asked if I was afraid of storms - I replied that I was not afraid, only startled. He started to engage me in some very odd small talk. I discovered that he went by the name "King" and came from, you guessed it, Grace land.
         The King and I were now joined by the other two people in the laundromat. One was a girl of about twenty whom I recognized from my apartment building. The other was an elderly man who wore a suit of brilliant sky blue and had a marvelous polished silver cane. I wondered to myself how long this stupid storm was going to keep me with these weirdos. The girl looked at me and said that this wasn't very nice. My eyebrows must have risen to my hairline! I was sure I had not uttered a single word out loud.
         At this point my tolerance was on edge. If the rain had not looked so violent I would have ran back to my place! The man in the sky blue suit must have noticed my impatience growing because he announced that he had the perfect game for us all to play. He walked with his silver cane to his duffle bag, and came back with Scrabble.
         Within a minute or two he had set the game up on a chair, which he placed in between the four of us. It looked like I would be passing the time of this storm with an enchanting game of Scrabble. A board game with an Elvis impersonator, a very slick-looking elderly man in a sky blue suit, a psychic girl, and myself. The Elvis impersonator picked the "A" tile and consequently took the first turn. Guess what his first word was? It was "suede."