Apparently, I like people.
I went to the Angel-Red Sox game Friday evening with longtime pal, John Burns. Great seats. Violated my pledge to not attend another Angels' game until Artie Moreno sells the team. Those seats were just too good to quibble about. Took solace in the bare-chested fan group shouting "Sell the team!” from the upper decks. I hear you, brothers.
I left my phone in John's car. Another casualty of grief is forgetfulness, I am told (I've been researching. It's a real thing).
I went to Disneyland yesterday. A gift from my son. He was working and I would get to see him in action. Got there just as the park opened then dashed to Space Mountain and used the single rider lane to avoid the hour-long line. The guy next to me in our little rocket was very enthusiastic that our journey on an interstellar roller coaster was the best possible way to start a day at the Diz. He was very vocal and chatty, which I did not mind. What struck me was that for the first time in a very long time, the person next to me on Space Mountain was a total stranger. Calene used to scream through every swoop and bank. Scream. I'm glad my new buddy did not do that. "I'm going to do it again," he told me as we jumped off, whereupon he sprinted back to the single rider line.
I ran errands yesterday. These are new to me. It was always Calene's role to run errands. Oh, I made the occasional Lowe's run but I never set foot inside Costco. It's not that I refused to run errands (a visit to Lowe's also means a quick stop at Selma's for a Pliny because they share the same parking lot), it was just part of our division of labor.
But now I know how to pick up prescriptions, every aisle in the grocery store, and the importance of upgrading the Costco membership for purposes of early morning admission….
Track season came to an end yesterday. I followed up my final high school track meet of the season by driving to UCLA and watching a professional meet with my friends from the USA Track and Field Foundation. I even got to hand Parker Valby her big fake check when she won the women's 5,000. That's what she called it. I liked that.
The shower in our Mammoth condo has the coldest water. Comes right off the mountain as snowmelt and blasts out of the faucet like a river of ice. A solid minute of that, followed by a quick turn to the right and instant hot water makes for an invigorating way to start the day.
That's not the only reason I'm driving to Mammoth tonight. The Southern Section track and field finals will go until 5:30 and then it's four hours up the mountain. I need to get away for a few days, go someplace where I can think and pray. Get the perspective that only distance can provide. This past week was just plain rough and I need to escape.
I'm going to church today. Haven't been in months, even before Calene passed. I don't really know why I'm going, to tell the truth. The worship music goes on too long, the message will be solid but my mind will drift, and it's a solid twenty-minute drive each way. Gas costing what it is these days, the trip almost seems like a luxury. But I will be around people and my thoughts will focus as I daydream, hopefully answering the questions troubling me this week. Perhaps I will run into someone I know and we will exchange hugs. That will make the journey worth it. In this world of fist bumps and high fives, sometimes the best thing is a solid heartfelt hug.
I am literally living under a cloud right now. It rained last night and the marine layer still presses down on Orange County. It looks like it will burn off soon enough. The sun will shine and I will head on over to the local to sip a couple IPA's and read a book. I won't really talk to anyone but I like being around the noise. We had our track banquet yesterday and I got several gift cards to Board & Brew as a coach's gift. No time like the present to put them to work.
