Sundays are early rising days. I found the kitchen (it has not moved), turned on the light for the orchids who reveled in the freezing 64F (18C) house and misted them. And then returned to writing the long Saturday blog. I was back at my Apple by 7ish and had found some remaining locally ground and roasted coffee. While not liberal coffee, one should buy locally (thus, being liberal) from a friendly family that runs a store in Hillsboro. The coffee tasted good, and my breakfast experience was enhanced by a croissant from Paris Baguette (a chain in NYC that has come to Beaverton). I found the last yogurt in the frig.
Grammarly seemed especially interested in simplifying not just my sentences but also removing their content and meaning. It is like the Mad Hatter has been added to the program. “If you remove all the meaning from your blog, you can have an un-blog; hundreds, nay thousands, of words that perfectly say nothing of import,” I can hear the Mad Hatter explaining and clarifying that Grammarly “is an excellent un-AI.”
After rewriting some paragraphs three times, I finished a story in the time-boxed window with the last bits rushed, but it was about board games that I have described before. I clean up and dress in a button-down color greyish dress shirt, pride tie, and a blue sweater vest. I put on dark socks and black Cole Hann shoes. It was another warm, clear day, and I grabbed my summer hat and boarded Air Volvo.
I was soon in the Beaverton First United Methodist Church, using the side entrance and by the Pride Progress flag. It was my impression that nobody wanted to sit down and do the service. Everyone was enjoying just chatting and having coffee, but Shawn announced the countdown for the Internet, which meant the service was live now on YouTube. I called out, “Break a leg,” to Dondrea and found a seat with my coffee.
“Morning has Broken,” “Here I Am,” and other easy and popular songs kept the positive energy flowing. The scripture is from the Old Testament and is the first words, “In the Beginning…”. Dan read this section skillfully and tells us, with a slight smile, that he has often tried to read the Bible cover to cover and has read this part the most. Pastor Ken’s sermon focused on the last day of creation, resting, and the sabbath. He pointed out that we, in our modern thinking, see this as an optional choice. Still, God and the writer (or writers, depending on your alignment to theories of Biblical sources) also include honoring the sabbath in the commandments; it was not meant to be optional. The pastor announces that the upcoming sermons will focus on rest and how to find it in the upcoming sermons. His message today was that rest and sabbath are from God, and we need to remember that and rest. He is not very good at it but is working on it.
More coffee after the service, and I head out while folks continue to chat. I landed at Red Robin in Air Volvo and sat at the bar. The bartender, looking like a hobbit and too young to be serving, gets me an iced tea and a basket of fries (I love their fries). I ordered the low-calorie chicken platter with a salad (which, without the fries, is a good choice). I should have ordered the 1/2, but it was not too much. I thought the chicken should have been on a grill instead of the usual industrial split chicken served at restaurants. But it’s still good.
The bartender asks me to give them a good review, which I do as I pay. I identified myself to the corporate machine that is Red Robin, made my plea that the service was good and should be rewarded, and even identified the excellent service from my diminutive bartender, who I learned is called Codo. With my payment and review accepted, I boarded Air Volvo and soon reached the Volvo Cave without incident.
I read and nodded off, resisted the pull of Morpheius, and rose only an hour or so later. I then texted, ordered tickets for Dracula for DMZ (Dondrea, Michael, and Z), and suggested we share the 20 September show and date with others to see how many folks we can join (there are plenty of seats; find it here). Next, I headed to Big River Coffee, but I had some calls, and they were closing before I got there (they close early on Sunday at 4).
One of the calls was with Linda, my sister. She was in the Ovid area and decided to check on the family plot at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Ovid, Michigan. Grand Wilds and a Bell are there, and Linda was worried the recent terrible storms might have caused some damage. Linda called me, and I helped direct her on the phone. I took photos from the roadway when I was there to locate the ground-level markers next time. Linda saw the Warren and Kennedy standing markers when driving on the cemetery road, and when they aligned, the Wilds and Bells were nearby. Linda found Leah Bell first and then the rest. Linda cleaned up the markers and was happy they were not damaged by falling trees (there were a few down in the cemetery) and left just before sunset. I would not hang out there after dark–too many movies start that way.
I returned to the house and managed not to do any writing. I made dinner from leftovers. I sliced up a grilled and marinated chicken breast (better than what I got earlier) and added that to vegan lentil soup from a can. I put this over the leftover mashed potatoes like it was gravy. It was excellent.
Still, at loose ends, I see a showing of Inside Out 2 at Movies on TV a few miles away, and I head there. I spotted the theater manager, Erica, who was happy to see me. We chat for a moment. She is now a caregiver for her mother, who is in failing health. Erica was thinking of me, she said, as she faced many of my challenges. From a distance, Erica saw Susie’s decline and now faces the same life she saw me live. In previous visits, we talked, and my only advice was to learn to forgive yourself for mistakes and anger. Tonight, I can see chatting help; we talk about movies and nothing about healthcare or the endless caregiving tasks. I can see Erica is feeling better to see someone who understands. I headed to my show, and she wished me a good showing.
Inside Out 2 is an excellent movie, and I often laugh at it. It also has many cringe-worthy moments and teen moments. As a former teenager who has mostly forgotten the day-to-day stress of those days, I react to a few. I thought the film dragged a few times and was shallower than the first, but it was still a good flick.
I return in Air Volvo, enjoying a small bag of overpriced popcorn and a kid’s paper cup of water—my limit of drinks to make it through a movie without discomfort. I shower and soon sleep. I rise three times to prove hydration, which is particularly annoying as I only had a cup of water at the movie!
Thanks for reading.
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