It should, because that's the case. Also, a little depression over the long-lasting winter seems to be lifting. A few days of warmer weather will do that. On Monday, it got to about 52F--about 11C. We have one more day of this before the weather turns cooler again. But that's OK because a lot of the snow has melted, and it doesn't look anywhere as January-like as it had. I don't mind 31 days of January. But when the tally gets into the 50s, a guy can't help but wonder whether we'll ever feel warm weather again.
Lately I've come to the realization--a eureka! moment--that I need to do more of the stuff I enjoy doing. And one thing I really enjoy doing is taking pictures--if just for my own amusement.
Like that last batch of pictures I posted, taken during last week's drive to that meeting out of town, when it was still subzero. That was a blast. I really enjoy going around and stopping to get a picture when I saw something interesting. Not worrying about time or schedules. Different things to see.
That's fun stuff. I am close to ordering a new camera, one that can do more things better than my present one. It's an upgrade, and I'm thinking about some of the things I'll be able to do with it. The key, of course, is to simply get out of the office or the house and explore around and see what I can see. Look a little more closely at things. Try new and different things. That's what I want to do over the next six or so months.
***
I did something really mysterious today. It will result in a mystery, in any event.
It was a compulsion. I felt compelled to do it. By my friend, S. My dear friend, whom I have not seen in 15 months now. I'll tell you about it, but you have to promise not to let the cat out of the bag.
OK? Promise?
As you may remember, she returned to her husband about a year ago, and last summer he was laid off by the (electric) utility company he worked for--they were downsizing. The company continued their health insurance for a period of time, but I think it has ended now.
They are both looking for work. So far, no good. He's not in the best of health (I have inferred that from what she has written me), and she is looking. In December, she got a position with an agency that provides caretakers for mentally ill people who are living at home. But she got injured by one of her clients--a young woman in her late teens who has the mental development of a very young child--and had to leave that position. I don't know if I ever wrote about that here.
The latest e-mails tell me she is on the verge of getting a job with an agency that works with people who have cerebral palsy. It's going to be the same live-in type of work, but it should be much safer for her.
But she has been telling me about their money problems. Money is tight. Latest was problems at the bank. Concerns about the mortgage on the house. Other bills. She said they are signing up at the food bank and energy assistance and food stamps. "In due time," she wrote, "this, too, will pass. I'm sure there is a reason for all of it and that prosperity is just around the corner. Oddly, I am very much at peace, knowing all is as it should be." I'll defer to her judgment on that.
(BTW, she knows nothing about my aunt or what has happened to me because of her death. I never told her about that.)
Long-time readers, back in the MB days, know that about a year and a half ago, just after S had left home and was really in a hurt for money, I had sent her some cash. Now this is happening to someone I consider one of my closest friends.
I have been thinking a lot about them for the last few weeks. I didn't want to act on impulse. I thought it over. Today, I sent her some money.
It's in an unmarked envelope. Money--no check--wrapped in a piece of legal paper with some hand-written instructions: "INSTRUCTIONS" it says at the top. "1. Deposit in a financial institution of your choice. 2. Use as needed." Hope the postmark doesn't give me away.
S likely will suspect it is me: I didn't make a mystery about it the first time, so I have that track record with her. But if she asks me about it now, I'm going to deny any role in it whatsoever. "Why the heck are you asking me? I know nothing!"
Or like that line I remember from the old "Mission: Impossible" TV series: "As usual, if you are killed or captured, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds."
Anyway ... I sent out that envelope late Monday afternoon. Maybe she'll decide that it was me, despite my denials. That's her decision. But if she asks me, she will hear an official denial. Meanwhile, S and her family are going to get some manna from heaven. That's what they need right now, I think.
***
We (my wife and I) are going to the state volleyball quarterfinals tomorrow, about 200 miles out of town. One of our teams is competing--I covered their regional tourney on Saturday.
Before I go, I've got to write to S--the usual stuff, telling her about all the exciting stuff I've been doing and sending her some photos of that very cold morning from last week. Not even a hint about something in the mail.
I haven't told my wife about my decision, by the way. But we'll have a lot of time in the car tomorrow, and she will find out all about it and the reasons I did what I did.
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