Friday Writing in Portland

I slept in until 8 and found the coffee waiting for me. I had shopped at Market of Choice and got some bananas, and I had that with a few slices of the pound cake I made a few days ago. I started the blog, and by the time I finished it, about 10, it had nearly 900 words. The day before had been filled with paperwork, and I had had three beers; everything hurt. Yes, less beer, I think.

I did a load of laundry and made a charcuterie plate for lunch from the fine cheese and some items I already had. I ate that while watching ShipHappens updates and some Battleship New Jersey videos on YouTube. The story from the Battleship is about using a retired barrel from New Jersey, extending it, and using it to fire projectiles into space. If something, say water and food, can withstand the 10K Gs, it will fly 1/2 to the Space Station. The joke was that Americans love guns anyway, so why not use them? Need basic building, water, and food in space? Use a big gun to send it up and capture it in space. I like that it was a Canadian Scientist who thought it.

Laundry done, dishes done, and I started to read material for my next Sunday School Class: Methodists — Grace, the Quadrilateral, and J&C Wesley. Later, I ordered little books, just a few pages, on “Being a United Methodist” to give out to folks who took the class. They will arrive before the last session.

Whatever it was (beer, paperwork, fall weather, etc.), I was sleepy. To make my drive to Portland less of a drag, I stopped by Coffee Rush and got a European mocha; I forgot to ask for mint. It tasted less sweet than what I remember. My tongue has not been the same since my surgery after a bad mouth infection, and I am never sure of my tastes. It is slowly improving. It is also, I am aware, a side effect of COVID-19, but I do not think that was it. To my knowledge, I have never had it and took ALL the shots (and will try to get the RJK Challenge shot too).

The Friday mid-afternoon traffic was slow, though I was not in a hurry as Kathleen would meet me later in Portland. I reached the Rogue Taphouse in SE Portland in Air VW the Gray without issue (their Pearl District location is closing this month), and they provide off-street parking. Score! I found a table and waited only a few moments for Kathleen to appear. She first parked on the street, saw the two-hour limit sign, and then moved her car into the supplied parking area.

We had an early dinner there; Kathleen loved the fish and chips, but with halibut (they also offer salmon, my favorite). I tried the brat and the sort of sweet roll, but sweet mustard over sourkraut did not work for me. I was thinking bitter and spicy. Next time, I will try something else or order it with no bun and spicy mustard on the side. We talked often, as we had a few weeks to catch up on, and both managed to write. This is our writing meet-up. We both just write and chat. We both read a few words to each other to see how it was working. I had two beers, one before and one as it got dark.

We then walked to a coffee house, Honey Latte Cafe, and I got a tea and a cookie. Kathleen got hot chocolate and an almond cake. We found a comfy leather sectional couch and wrote more. We made more progress, but it was near 9 and I had to get back across Portland and Beaverton. We walked back to our cars, said goodbye, and headed in opposite directions. Navigation took me over the tall Fremont Bridge using the on-ramp higher than the highest part of the roadbed on the bridge. I call it the space shuttle launch ramp. Traffic was slow, and a car was stalled just outside the tunnel. No accidents happened while I was there; traffic in the tunnel was slow tonight (In Baltimore, I remember going 90+ and being passed in the tunnel).

I arrived about 9:30 at home, and I read, as I said above, Methodist-centered items to prepare for the class a week from Sunday. I finished the first chapter of Why I am A Methodist which is out of print, but not much has changed in the fundamental theology and structure of the church. I found my notes from twenty years ago stuck in the book. I used the book in my Maryland and Beaverton Sunday School Classes, which I taught long ago.

I found the newest like book at Cokesbury (the Methodist publishing company that remained with the UMC when it split in 2022) and ordered it. I will see if it fits my style, and maybe there will be a follow-up class if folks desire it.

With the lives of John and Charles Wesley spinning in my head and three times of grace, I closed my eyes, and after a while, I slept.

Thanks for reading.