1. I had the same uplifting experience twice today in the Yoke's parking lot, once as I went in the store and once as I left.
When I go to Yoke's, because wearing a face covering is uncommon in Kellogg and because I know, from reading comments on social media, that a number of my fellow Kellogg citizens stridently oppose mask wearing, I'm mildly on guard as I go in the store covered up.
I do my best to move quickly through the store, carry myself humbly, avoid eye contact, hope I don't get confronted about covering my mouth and nose, and get out -- in fact, I admit that I try to make myself invisible -- which is impossible -- but I can move about as inconspicuously as possible.
So far, I'm happy to say, I haven't experienced any confrontations. I don't think anyone has glared at me or given me a dirty look. I'm very grateful. So far, I'd say, the vibe in the store has been something like don't bug me and I won't bug you.
Let me add another detail. I haven't had a haircut since February. I have my own rational, non-fear based reasons for not going to get a haircut. I'll leave it at that.
So, today, to cover my unruly mop of white hair, I wore the cap Don Knott made and then gave to me at the Lounge after Mom's Celebration of Life.
It's a baseball cap with a Heidelberg beer logo on it. It pays homage to Dad's longtime devotion to Heidelberg beer -- and, if I remember correctly, to Don's dad, too.
As I was about to walk into the store, a young guy I don't know, coming out of Yoke's, approached me.
I admit it.
I thought here it comes.
He's going to call me a sheep or explain why wearing a mask is giving up my liberty. I was preparing, from my side of things, to keep things cool, not get into a conflict.
But, no!
He wasn't confronting me.
He said, "Hey! Great cap! My stepdad loved Heidelberg beer. It's all he'd drink!"
He couldn't see my wide smile, although he must have seen the joy in my eyes.
I said, "My dad, too! He loved Heidelberg beer. Too bad we can't buy it any more."
He agreed, we talked a little more, each said, "Have a good one!", and I bounded into Yoke's.
When I carted my groceries back to the Sube, a young guy was packing big coolers in the back of his rig with ice in the parking spot next to mine.
My mouth and nose were still covered.
"Hey, man! Great cap! My dad loved Heidelberg beer! It's all he drank!"
I removed my mask as a smile covered my face.
"Mine, too! It's a shame we can't buy it any more!"
"Sure is! Hey! Have a great weekend!"
"You, too! See ya round!"
Great guys at Yoke's.
2. After watching an hour of news programming, Debbie and I watched, from the first season of Monk, the episode entitled, "Mr. Monk and the Airplane". This episode featured three terrific guest actors: Garry Marshall was brilliant as the gabby extension cord salesman, Warren Beach, who sat next to Mr. Monk on the flight; Brooke Adams, a favorite of mine (Tell Me A Riddle), played the harried flight attendant who has to deal with Mr. Monk's anxieties and eccentricities; and, Tony Shalhoub's cast mate from the show Wings, Tim Daly, appeared as himself and was featured in a subplot with Sharona. We had great time watching it.
3. Seeing Tim Daly made me curious whether three television programs I knew about from the 1990s were available in any of our SmartTV apps. I didn't watch any of these programs very often, but friends and family did. So I looked into Wings, Northern Exposure, and Picket Fences.
We decided to purchase the first season of Picket Fences and we watched the show's pilot.
I loved it.
The pilot featured several intertwined plots that moved effortlessly between gravely serious matters, comic absurdity, and, I think, passages of fantasy. It also set in motion conflicts that I anticipate will be delved into more fully as the first season unfolds.
It was past midnight when this episode ended, but I was wound up, excited by those parts of Picket Fences that, to me, were ingenious.
So, Debbie went to bed and I stayed up. I watched the last half of an episode of Match Game '74 featuring host Gene Rayburn and panelists Bobby Van, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Elaine Joyce, Richard Dawson, and Betty White. This episode must have been taped early in the day. None of the panelists seemed too intoxicated yet.
I wasn't quite ready to hit the sack yet and so I spent an hour or so looking at movie trailers from mainstream movies made in the 1970s: The Goodbye Girl, Cinderella Liberty, A Touch of Class and maybe one or two others and it brought back some fun memories of going to see movies at the Garland in Spokane and of watching movies of the week on network television. Finally, about 2 a.m., I settled down and retired.
As the temperatures start to increase a bit, here's a limerick by Stu:
To jump into water to cool.
Is a great heat relief as a rule.
But we all have a preference,
So, to use for a reference.
Do you choose ocean, or lake or a pool?
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