Find What Is Now

I always wait till noon to have my lunch.  Most days that means I’ve made it all morning long on black coffee and spring water, extending to sixteen hours the time since I last broke fast.  And my routine is generally about tuna fish.  This is likely problematic as who knows what’s at the top of the oceans’ food chain, that Starkist and Bumble Bee do their best to persuade me is not an issue: this is ocean caught Albacore.  But even if it is free of nasty elements, it still isn’t proper to have a tuna salad, every fast-breaking session one has.  And so it was with great satisfaction today that I opened the refrigerator to spy one of the large, uneaten burritos from yesterday, staring up at me from its aluminum foil blanket.

My reading pace has slowed to a trickle.  The culprit?  The puzzle.  I come out and say I’ll only do a few pieces.  But soon I’ve decided the strange sphere that holds two innocent humans in the center-piece is now within reach on this Bosch puzzle we’ve been doing.  I’ve seen that flower stem now so many times and now I look in vain once and twice across all the puzzle pieces to find what is now obviously contextualized.  And when I do, another few pieces fit in easily and it all feels satisfying in a primal way. 

Our American history class is building to the first inevitable.  The Colonists are not happy.  They’ve grown confident of their ability to fight from the French and Indian War, and they grow ever less willing to tolerate stamp duties and internment.  It’s only a matter of time (tomorrow, to be precise) when the Colonists will take up arms in rebellion.  Amazing, given what’s to come that the south was so solidly in support of rebel Boston at this time.

Amidst all the chaos that the virus has wrought, first in my adopted home and then in my own home, I have repeated to myself, over and over, how thankful I am for what I have got.  The Sly and the Family Stone song: “Thankful and Thoughtful” from Fresh seems to sing out with this particular mediation.  I am very thankful that these young ladies allow me to teach them class and that we have the time to dig into something that is critical and they otherwise would have missed.  Thankful we're together, and safe. 

Tuesday 03/24/20