I had lunch with a buddy last week, providing my first glimpse inside of Moe’s Southwest Grill in Ashland after more than a year of being teased by a co-worker’s carry-out lunches from the restaurant. I liked the place, particularly the employees who were on duty that day, and my big burrito was nothing short of delicious.

I have to exercise “portion control” these days and didn’t want to abandon half of such a good burrito, so I wrapped it up and slipped it into one of the oversized pockets in my winter coat. My friend (who picked up the tab for lunch) and I hopped into a borrowed car because both of our vehicles were out of commission. I dropped him off in Catlettsburg and realized I was late for a gathering at a local hospital. A little later in the afternoon I remembered that burrito, which was nowhere to be found in my coat or the car.

I wondered about the fate of that burrito for a couple of days and couldn’t imagine where it had come to rest. To my surprise, it was hiding in plain sight. The foil-wrapped burrito remnant had slipped from my pocket and was hiding in the chrome plated seat belt assembly.

Fortunately, this was during our first wave of extreme cold and the thing was frozen solid so it never had a chance to fill the car with that rotten food smell. Upon discovering it and inspecting its frozen state I actually considered popping it into a microwave but decided that might not be the healthiest alternative.

Calling Graebear’s

A couple of former customers of Graebear Gallery have asked if I know where the business relocated, pointing out the owner had said the business would definitely be reopening after vacating their space along Winchester Avenue a few months ago.

The new shop may also be hiding in plain sight, but I had no luck finding them during a quick sweep of the area. If anyone knows where the shop is now, or if the owner decides to call it quits, let me know and I’ll pass that information along in this column.

Satisfied customer

I got a note from a satisfied customer of a local business this week who discovered the place while scrambling to deal with the aftermath of broken water pipes and a flooded crawl space.

Someone at Wagner Rental & Supply, 905 Greenup Ave., answered the call for a sump pump, helped the new (and I suspect somewhat frustrated) customer determine the correct size for the job, explained how to use the tool and made it easy to exchange when the customer got it home and discovered a need for a different unit.

“It was one of the quickest, friendliest transactions I’ve ever had,” the customer said, adding the store had “all kinds of cool stuff” for rent. “He saved me a bunch on clearing out my flooded crawl space and didn’t take advantage of my ignorance either. How cool is that?”

For more information, call (606) 326-9911.

Stanley retiring

If you’ve ever worked with Carl Stanley, office manager of the Russell branch of Peoples Bank, you may want to stop by the bank Thursday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to congratulate and wish him well during his upcoming retirement.

Bank officials cite Stanley’s knowledge and ability to provide a personal touch, as well as his community involvement, among the reasons he will be missed at the Russell office. Stanley has been working in the financial services industry for 33 years, with a dozen of those at Peoples Bank and affiliates.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.