I didn’t like the way my Friday began.  When I got out of bed, I thought the time must be about 5:30–5:45.  (I had hit the snooze button once.)  When my eyes finally focused, I realized it was nearly 6:30.  “What happened?” I wondered.

I staggered into the guest bedroom and put on my gym clothes.  When I got to the gym the early, early morning rush was over, and the parking lot wasn’t quite as full.  There was a slightly different crowd present.  In a way it was disorienting.  My normal routines were all askew.

I got home and did what I normally do after the gym:  open the paper, prepare breakfast, answer e-mail and do some busy work.  By the time I get done with that I’m cooled down and ready for my shower.  But it was after 8:00 when I got to that.  This was not good.

A little later in the morning I had this niggling feeling that I had missed something.  Indeed.  I had a 7:30 haircut appointment.  On any other morning I would have made that with no problem.  But on this morning I had failed to check my PDA or look too closely at the clock.  I called Lori to apologize and to see if she had an opening.  She acted like it was no big deal and gave me a 2:00 appointment, shoe-horning me into her busy day.

I had 11:00 and 3:00 appointments for the day.  On Thursday a person told me, “Call me at 11:00 tomorrow; I’ll be free then, and I’d like to talk with you.”  I dutifully called at 11:00.  “Mr. Smith is not available,” I was told.  I explained I was just keeping an appointment that he had set up.  I felt a little verklempt.

My 3:00 appointment was changed to 3:30.  I went to the designated meeting place and waited…..  Nearly 20 minutes later I got a call.  “I’m on the way.”  He finally got there at 4:10.  I had actually lost an hour and a half or so for a meeting that should have taken 30 minutes.  I was feeling really self-righteous.

Then I remembered my 7:30 appointment which I botched.  I remembered my hair stylist’s grace.  It made it easier to quit feeling verklempt.  I had no basis to feel self-righteous.  We all need grace.

I went to a media event today.  One television station was present, as were a couple of newspapers.  There were two state representatives present and one U.S. representative.  The mayor drove up in a vintage automobile, and she was dressed in 1930’s attire.  There was a red carpet.

The occasion was the unveiling of a grant the Merced Theater Foundation has just received to help with the renovation with a historic old building.  Two of three stages have been completed.  The final stage is the restoration of the interior to its former 1930’s glory.  When completed it will be a showcase for performing arts and other community events.  It will be a beauty.

I like going to events like this because you can see who the real contributors to community well being are.  You find out who is giving up Saturdays to do grunt work.  Who is going to Sacramento to lobby for monies to do such projects.  Who cares deeply about the quality of life in Merced.

The editorial page of the paper is often filled with poison pen letters, but too often the writers do so from the comfort of their own home.  You don’t find them on boards, donating time, giving service. and otherwise winning the right to be a critic.

Today’s event was wonderful.  I admire the people who have worked hard to make things like the theater restoration come to pass.

I went to Starbucks today to get some work done.  It had been a busy morning, and I had gotten no study time.  I went to my usual spot, got the computer out, and was getting a little work done.

Then it happened.

A family of four came in and sat at a table near me.  At first I was not aware of them.  Then I became aware of a strong accent.  Since I am intrigued by accents, my attention focused on the voices to figure out where they were from.  Then I became aware of how loud they were.

The father was telling the college aged woman how she had disappointed him, hurt him, and not lived up to her potential.  The young woman told the man, presumably her father, that she intended to make her own mistakes.  She didn’t want advice or help.  Her language was peppered with the f-word.

A friend of mine, sitting near by got up and left.  On his way out he told me, “I think you need to offer your counseling services to them,” grinning as he walked away.  “No,” I said.  “I don’t think I’ll be getting involved in that dispute.”

I suppose that culture influenced the way the family decided to air their dispute.  I can’t imagine going to such a public place to loudly discuss a family problem.  At the lowest level it was very rude.  No one could sit around them without being disturbed by it.  Everyone could hear perfectly what was being discussed.

It was not a matter of eavesdropping.  This was like having a bull horn strapped to your head.  I wanted to say, “Take it home to discuss.”

Bev and I just celebrated our 39^th anniversary.  I can’t believe it!  It doesn’t feel like 39 years.  I don’t think of myself as being the age I am.

I know not everyone has that experience.  Bev has made it easy to be married to her.  She is adventurous, loving, interesting, intelligent, beautiful….  I could go on with the adjectives.

For our 39^th we went to San Francisco.  Although it was a short trip, we did things that were utterly delightful.  On Friday we attended the retirement of a friend from the Coast Guard.  Then we went to the Nordstrom Mall on Market Street.  Bev had some shoes to return that didn’t work out.

After that we went to Greens Restaurant.  It is one of our favorites.  It has wonderful vegetarian cuisine.  It also has some of the grandest views in San Francisco as it overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marina District.  Our meal was grand.  My mouth went, “Wow!”

On Saturday we went to Sausalito to stroll around.  There was a jewelry store that we had visited a few years ago that wondered about whether it was still open.  It was.  We bought Bev another neat, funky bracelet there.  The salesman was appropriately attentive.

We came home later that day to begin our next 39 years.  I doubt we’ll make that goal, but it is fun to think about what new adventures and challenges are ahead.