Poppy's Magical Hot Spells

Since that downer of a day when all the heat began emanating straight out of Poppy's head, she just wasn't feeling quite herself. Suddenly, she was having little hissy fits over minor things, crying at the drop of a hat. She couldn't even decide which clothes to wear, let alone which of her tasks to complete first. She was completely out of sorts.

Tired of frazzled nerves, sudden feverish sweats and a not-so-funny hairdresser who took to calling her Hotflash, Poppy decided to make the big M work for her. Now she imagines that these little hot spells are magical and that each will enhance her ability to paint, draw, write garden, sculpt and create music. So far, it's working. She also discovered that she could use her hotflashes as an excuse for expressing random bursts of pure honesty among total strangers.

Just this morning, for example, Poppy watched some woman who was on a cell phone and had one of those little froo-froo dogs in her purse sneak past a man who was in the line but was too busy gazing longingly at the apple fritters to notice the woman who butted in front of him. She gave Poppy one of those little looks that said "Hahaha, just between us," as if Poppy would think what she was doing was OK or somehow approve of her rude behavior. Poppy hated what froo-froo dog lady did and really hated that she would have the audacity to drag her into it. Poppy typically would just roll her eyes at such behavior, but today, she was having one of her little spells and feeling a little hot around the collar, so she just let her have it ... well, in her own Poppy way.

She interrupted froo-froo dog lady's phone conversation and said "Excuse me, but I think I speak for everyone in this line (even though it was her just her and jelly donut man) when I say that your inflated sense of self-importance is something we could all live without. I realize you're very busy, what with your silly phone conversation and your little purse dog ... and I know you think your time crunch is somehow more urgent than ours, but we won't tolerate your behavior and if you don't go to the back of the line like everyone else, well, you should be utterly ashamed of yourself.

When Poppy arrived at the counter, the cashiers who knew her so well and had never before seen her act this way, asked if she was OK. Poppy pulled out that little fold-up fan she now keeps in her purse and began waving it back and forth and said that she was fine, just fine, and that she'd like a small vanilla latte and a couple of those little munchkins.

Dotty, who looked like she had had some experience with hot spells, laughed and gave a her a big giant vanilla latte and a whole box of munchkins, and told her it was on the house. She said to come on back tomorrow, as they could use a little entertainment in the mornings.

Poppy is in the ladies' room at Starbucks near Southport Shopping Center, 17th Street Causeway, Fort Lauderdale.