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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Ego Trip

It may be too soon to say, but so far this vacation has been a real jolt for my ego. I'll be back to normal in Hoboken by this time next week, but the month of February was full of unexpected adventures.

I thought it would be a time for contemplation, writing, reading, and visits with old friends, but from the first this one held promise of other things that are still in progress. I drove to Florida for a book talk and met some wonderful people in the process. I stayed overnight in a lovely guest cottage and had a great meal with congenial people--and the audience for my informal speech came prepared and asked intelligent questions. Having that kind of attention can make one feel very important.

Arriving back at home base, I found myself with lunch dates, coffee dates, and parties in my honor all month long. Two men from my distant past--childhood, in fact--approached me to talk about possible relationships in the future. With another friend, I saw one of the best movies of the year (Crazy Heart). The weather cooperated as best it could in February; temperatures were chilly, some nights going as low as the high 20's, but there was lots of sun and most days the high was in the 50's.

After a day or two I got I realized my computer was on the wane, and called upon my computer-expert friend here to help me clean out the trash. In the process the hard drive gave out completely and I had to buy a new laptop. This oddly affected my ability to write. I was too occupied with the mechanics of operating the new laptop to stimulate my creative urges. Maybe that's a copout, but that's the way it worked out. I wrote a few blog posts but started no major literary works.

I have a new laptop anyway, and had a lot of stimulating talks, and have a great deal more material for anything I might want to write in the future. And, okay, I know you want to know about the two men. I spent a day with one, talking about old times and found that he has grown up to be a wonderful human being. He is much as he was as a child, and I looked on him as a brother even then. I don't see the future holding anything more, but it is nice to have reconnected with a long-lost brother. The other man just left, after a nice meal and a good long talk. He hugged me and said, "Thanks for being a friend." Hmmm. Nothing in the world wrong with that. A little disappointing, perhaps, but in my eternally optimistic mind, the door is not completely shut.

The vacation is drawing to an end with a lot of promise. I've relaxed, indulged myself, looked at my life, and touched base with a number of special people in a number of ways. When I get to Hoboken Monday afternoon, there will a lot of snow on the ground, and it will still be winter. But I can carry the touch of spring in my heart, the spring that is Fairhope all the time.

12 comments:

tangerine said...

You should have gone with Bachelor #1.

old philosopher said...

Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been."

Mary Lois said...

Oh, shut up. Both of you.

Miss Leslie said...

Good for you! I'm so glad you found a little bit of the Fairhope magic again.

Jacques Mullet said...

The best part that I read is 'makes me feel important'. There's a reason to get back to work. And, the weather seen on the news for the area indicates that the groundhog was correct. Only nutsos will be sunbasking up there.
Staying inside and close to the new PC all fresh from a trip should make for good writing.
A notion of feeling hot can't be all bad either. Fantasies of romance fill many novels and the
thoughts of most folks, probably. I know I'm full of it.........both things most likey.

Benedict S. said...

Whether we weather the weather, or fall victim to its whims . . . ah, well, I can't think of any words equally as clever as those to finish this thought, so I'll just leave it at that.

Glad you enjoyed your trip home.

bill carl williams said...

A beautiful summary, ML. You've motivated me to go poetical, with apologies to L. Cohen:

Now that you're gone,
who to compare to the Life of Riley?
Not that I did compare,
but I do compare now that you're gone.

Mary Lois said...

I sure would like to know who Bill Carl Williams is. The link doesn't help, and I can't place the name.

Benedict S. said...

Perhaps a spin-off on "William Carlos Williams," one of America's great 20th century poets.

Mary Lois said...

I think you're right, Benedict. Still doesn't give me a clue who the writer is.

Unless it's you.

Benedict S. said...

Probably a member of the English-speaking world, probably a male . . . that narrows it down a shade. If we had a DNA sample. . .

Mary Lois said...

Send me a swab.