Finally, awake and alone at a reasonably early hour. My obligations immediately upon waking (take weight, consume my kaleidoscope of prescription drugs, measure blood glucose, take blood pressure and record it [and the other measurements]) infringe on my day. This morning, I am lucky and have avoided (so far) the howling and yowling of a cat that claims she is on the verge of starvation. Let her sleep, I pray. (After an hour, she expressed a deep and abiding hunger.)
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Yesterday afternoon, friends took us to North Little Rock for lunch and hoppy libations at Flyway Brewery, after which we went to see a play, One Ninth, at the Argenta Community Theater, just around the corner. Powerful theater, it was directed and acted well and the story was clear. The play, written by Spirit Trickey Tawfiq, is the story of her mother, Minnijean Brown Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine—the first Black students to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957. It tells the story from the inside out, based on the experiences and emotions of some of the students who integrated Little Rock Central High School. Yesterday’s matinee performance was, I think, the final performance of the play’s run.
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Every time we go into Little Rock to deliberately enjoy the amenities of the city, my mind drifts toward the possibility of buying a downtown condo there. In a magical place in my mind, where obstacles do not get in the way of impracticality, I see our friends who like to make frequent visits to Little Rock (and who would love to stay overnight instead of rushing to return to the Village before blackness falls), joining us in buying a place and paying its HOA fees. Mi novia and I have had this conversation several times before: it would make far more sense (and be dramatically less expensive) to simply reserve a hotel room when a drive back to the Village is especially unappealing. I suppose the freedom afforded by a condo is what appeals to me; no need to look for hotel room. But essentially discarding money by buying a place that may not be used with frequency is fiscally irresponsible. The answer to my financial dilemmas is obvious: I just need instant and unending access to large sums of money. That way, I could be a gluttonous consumer of unnecessary and undeserved service. Such a simple solution.
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I had planned on preparing the church board meeting packet yesterday, but the trip to Little Rock interfered with that intended tasked. When I got home, my mind was too focused on unrelated thoughts, so I put off the process until this morning. I have to wade through emails for committee reports, inasmuch as I agreed to compile the committee reports for this meeting, as the VP was not going to attend. That changed, but responsibility for the committee reports did not. Sometime this morning, before noon, I will send what I develop to the board and to the office for distribution to members. Like most volunteer-driven organizations, very few members care about the inner workings of the board. This morning, as I contemplate what I need to do to prepare, it occurs to me that the monthly board meeting is a habit, not a necessity. The same is true of committee reports. We do what we do because “it has always been done that way.” My least favorite phrase, one that implies creativity is an unwelcome intruder in the operation of the organization that bears the burden of habit. I may change some things for the remainder of my term as president. Automatic, unnecessary, and unrewarding bureaucracy tends to cause my blood pressure to rise and my eyes to attempt to behave like flame-throwers.
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Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
~ Aristotle ~
I have a term to describe Aristotle’s two people whose single soul inhabit their bodies: soulmates. Soulmates need not be lovers, but of course they can be. But they must be deeply connected to one another, sharing philosophies, world-views, attitudes about life, and many more attributes. Yet they need not be completely in-synch, either. Their compatibility with one another is sometimes like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle; the pieces are shaped differently from one another, but they fit together precisely to help create a larger image. Even in the midst of such closely-linked, precise fits, soulmates may not realize they are so closely aligned with another. Wait. I have absolutely no credentials that would legitimize these assertions. See how easy it is for a person to sell himself as an expert?
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Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
~ Peter Ustinov ~
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Today is my niece’s birthday…Feliz cumpleaños, Sobrina hermosa!
