Real World
Let me check. Yes, I’m home. With nothing much to do in the coming days except go listen to music. That will be a balm. Yesterday, was a good day, however. After the visit with my dentist, I found myself in a local big box retailer and realized I was within hailing distance of some old friends. So, I hailed them. They were out driving around, and we agreed to meet for lunch at the Buffalo Grille. We had a good visit.
I’ve decided this year I’m going to spend more time in Houston, because I have family and friends there and I miss them. Later this month I have a date with a bunch of them to listen to music. And several of them just want me to come down and see them, which is also balm for the soul, having people want you. It makes me wish I was well off enough to have a second home, but I have enough trouble keeping one house tidy without throwing a second one in the mix. Besides lots of people enjoy company. I know I do.
Of course, all this travel is a little pricey these days what with the price of gas. But I grew up with the Cuban missile crisis, Soviet tanks in Hungary, the Berlin Wall, and the Prague Spring. And while I am perfectly willing to put a Ukrainian flag decal on my Facebook page (I haven’t done it), I also realize we might need to do a bit more real-world stuff. Like stop buying Russian oil. That seems an easy sacrifice. After all, it’s not like someone is asking me to die for my country. Although, they did once, and I went. Got lucky. Stayed home. And that is me veering off into politics once every five years, by suggesting we all stop whining about high gas prices. It is a tiny problem in the grand scheme of things.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale