Sleep can be difficult in new places and time zones. I woke often, and my eyes were still burning from the allergic reaction to the eye drops. I managed to rise around 8, which certainly did not feel late to my Pacific Time Zone-aligned body. I had breakfast at the hotel lobby and texted Deborah, who was checking on options after her car stopped working on Sunday morning.
I read my email, updated my transactions in Quicken, downloaded from all the fast-changing accounts (The investment accounts and IRA generally are manually maintained balances). I write and publish my daily blog of what happened that day. I am now unwilling to let a day pass without noting what happened. Every day (a lesson from Dad Wild) is precious and possibly your last sunrise.
I am wearing a sweater, which is good since, after the chemotherapy, I’ve become more susceptible to cold. I can be easily chilled. I often put a light jacket over that and a hat. I left my hat behind recently, and Deborah rescued it for me.
Deborah appears, and we spend some time together, and then head to the Koney Island (spelled there with a ‘K’, not a ‘C’) place for lunch. Deborah has an omelet, and I have two dogs with chili and onions, along with a Greek-style salad. Excellent. Deborah, using her son’s car, takes us back to her place, where I get to pet the dogs. We hang out and watch shows like Murders Only in the Building and the new Matlock. We discovered we had not finished the Matlock season, and thus we started on that, too. Season 2 is released on Sunday.
Without a car, we went for leftovers, and there is something great about having leftover prime rib from Lucky’s. We had ordered the larger cut, and so we both had a whole meal left. We reheated it in the microwave until it was hot. We cut up some of the colorful carrots we got at the Farmer’s Market and cooked them in the microwave. We both reheated some of the sides we got with the meal and then, with the dogs looking at us with sad eyes, consumed much of the dinner. Deborah got a roast-sized bit of prime rib and still could not finish it. That went back to the fridge.
We watched some more shows and enjoyed some of Costco’s margarita drinks (with tequila already mixed in) as we continued watching episodes. We enjoyed a quiet night, something we often don’t do when traveling. It was not light, but I was tired from drinking and eating.
I got an Uber and was soon whisked away by a friendly driver with a slight accent to my hotel. The driver and I talked about travel and places to visit, and he followed the map. I arrived without incident and gave the driver a good rating and tip.
Back in my room, I watched Dondrea’s sermon (here) on the church’s YouTube channel. It was an excellent sermon that covered some of the history, including the terrible stuff, about the Methodist Indian school that became Willamette University(see Jason Lee). Dondrea also covered that the country may not have a problem with polarization, but rather with grief. It may be the effects of grief, such as denial and anger. That may be the reason for our inability to have a conversation about issues: it is either grief about a lost past or a sense of peace. Grief is not logical or fact-based, which is reflected in many of today’s reactions. Pastor Ken made the connection to grief for us. Dondrea ended it with a scripture reading from the First Nation translation of Paul. It really fit the text and the direction of her sermon.
After watching and calling Dondrea (three hours earlier in time zone) to congratulate her on an excellent sermon, I read for a while and tried to sleep. Again, sleep was difficult.
Thanks for reading!
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