16 November 2020
As I start this it is about 10:15 AM. I have had breakfast, oatmeal with blueberry compote and coffee. Further I have walked 2.4 miles. Turning my attention to household needs I have ordered several things online. Within a minute or two I will refill my cup with a warm beverage.
Today the trees were bare along my route. Also, the wind whipped down the broad highway just north of my home strongly enough to make 35 F feel like 24 F. Layer upon layer of outerwear was buttoned up and zippered up. Cold and walking at a brisk pace I got my full walk in. Over the past week I have been averaging a total of 6.2 miles a day walked. I have met all three of my move/exercise/stand goals for 221 days in a row (7+ months).
Walking out I listened to three podcasts, Up First (Today’s edition), Consider This (Friday’s edition) and Politico Dispatch (Friday also). The majority of the news focused in equal parts on the drastically increasing Covid-19 numbers and the failure of the Trump Administration to engage in the transition process. There were two others short squib stories. These touched on a growing war in Ethiopia and the failure of the House and Senate to come up with a plan for, and to engage in distance voting. By the time the walk was over I was craving an SSRI. I settled for a homemade apple pie bar.
A friend recently said that this year was so messed up that she didn’t mind the merging of the holidays. Her comments indicated that in most years this is something she fought with a passion. Me too. Back to my friend, I believe her comment was something like, “If wearing a Santa Claus hat and listening to carols, while sitting in a bathtub filled with Halloween candy all the while eating a turkey leg makes 2020 more bearable, do it.” As I sit here eating one of the last Rollo candies from Halloween, not a big mover among the East Lansing grade school set, I note I brought up our three Rubbermaid tubs of Christmas decorations. Concurrently I put away two boxes of Halloween decorations. My wife is ordering a turkey online to be delivered to the trunk of our car today or tomorrow.
The weekend was cold and wet and miserable. With Covid on the rise walking in the malls remains off limits. I read two novels, a Bosch thriller I had missed and the newest Dresden Files. Both were quick reads and fluffy fun. I also watched a bunch of episodes of a trashy British police procedural called New Tricks. Elevator description, crusty retired coppers solving cold cases with humor. I can recommend the series as fun if you like all things Brit.
At one point yesterday I could no longer bear to stay in the house. I went out for a twenty-minute walk. Before I had finished my mile, the wind was blowing hail into me sideways. Yeah, the high wind warnings were justified. In honor of this weekend’s nasty weather I offer the following song by the irascible Van Morrison. Great singer, great writer, grouchy old bastard.
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