I used to have a handle on life, but then it broke.
The morning was grey, reminding me of being at sea where the ocean and the sky merge into a huge grey mass. Although the clouds seemed to threaten rain as we walked Scout, The Wonder Dog, there was no rain on the usual 0.8-mile journey. Then I had a thought, always a dangerous situation: Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?
We finally “woke up” (i.e., stopped walking around like zombies) around noon after a late breakfast and Scout’s little walk. Today it was Annie and dancing day! At 3:00 PM, we headed to Banning to visit Annie, a friend of Mary’s, for almost a half-century. We were packing up and getting ready to go, and Mary was going through the checklist.
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so there were no restaurants open; we had to take a picnic basket to the dance!
We hit the road and remembered, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Mary was driving, so I did not see much except the inside of my eyelids; passing cars at the speed of sound three inches off the deck is frightening. When Mary stops, it’s like a carrier landing. I had my Depends at the ready!
“Saddle up, big boy!” Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic!
On a serious note, and that does not happen very often, I am enamored that Dr. Mary takes joy in visiting friends, who are a quarter-century older than he, and that she honestly cares about these people like I was taught growing up. Mary is an amazing and caring lady.
We visited for an hour, sharing all the latest gossip. Gossip: Hearing something you like about someone you don’t. For being in her mid-90s, Annie is as sharp as a tack and funny!
I tried to remember some good gossip, but Marty had to explain to me: ‘You have two parts of the brain, “left” and “right.” On the left side, there’s nothing right, and on the right side, there’s nothing left!’
Mary, like me, relishes old friends and keeps in touch for decades!
Do you recognize these two? The snapshot was taken about ten years ago, looking good.
Two lovely chicks!
Around 6:00 PM, we headed out, aiming Precious (Mary’s rocket ship) toward Chino. I drove the little lady this evening, and that was an eye-opener. It was like a rocket-powered roller-skate. Just breath on the accelerator, and you jump into warp drive. I managed to keep her under control, but it took all the power I had. The sun was setting, and the sky was amazing.
The sky was on fire! Sunset is still my favorite color; the rainbow is second.
The most beautiful sunsets are the ones we share. We arrived in Chino at about 6:45 PM, after getting clearance from the local control tower, and took our sandwiches into the studio and dined with Bob and Donna.
Dinner is served!
Since I take the pictures and seldom get a picture with me, we risked the camera lens, and Mary got a shot at me! The lens did not overheat nor break; there was a slight vibration, however! Oh, and a little bit of steam!
As Mark Twain said, “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.” My smiles have been all over!
A dashing figure, I might say!
We danced and danced, taking it easy, doing only rumbas, foxtrots, cha-chas, and waltzes. I asked Dr. Mary, “What sort of dancing do ducks like?” Again, without hesitation, she replied, ” The quackstep.”
Beauty and the Beast!
We departed Chino about 9:00 PM for Mary’s with Precious straining at the bit; I kept her well under Mach 3, but it was a fight. Besides, I didn’t want to pat for the broken glass in the neighboring windows.
“Mommy! How come Daddy drives too slow!”
We arrived at home about 9:30 PM and watched some TV before crashing. It was an amazing day!
