Monday, November 7, 2022

Three Beautiful Things 11-06-2022: Breakfast at Brails, Tea with Sparky, Talking Big Ideas with Rita -- Then to Portland

 1. I was up and at 'em early enough this morning and buzzed over hill and dale to meet The Troxstar for breakfast at Brails. The Original Brails. The Troxstar had just flown into Eugene after spending several days in Massachusetts visiting his parents. His visit gave us a lot to talk about as he reflected on his parents growing older and the challenges they face and that he is also dealing with. While away, The Troxstar bought me a bottle of Ce n'est pas La Fin du Monde. I haven't sampled it yet, but from what I read it's a fusion between IPA and a Belgian triple. Should be very interesting!

2. I blasted back to the tiny house I rented and checked out. Then I rocketed over to Sparky Roberts' house and we enjoyed a nearly two hour visit.  Sparky made each of us a cup of Chinese tea that definitely hit the spot. We talked about our many fun times in the theater, working together. We talked about people we've worked with whom we miss either because they've moved away or have passed away.  She told me about a couple of projects she'd like to put on. Sparky's partner, Joe Cronin, was also  home. He's recovering from a series of medical problems and visited with us for a while before going back to bed. Yes, he's shrunk some and has aged noticeably, but I thought his energy was positive, his mind is sharp, and I very much enjoyed talking with him. 

Sparky and I began working on things together back in 1992 -- she was in her late forties and I was in my late thirties and despite all the years that have passed, I felt like we were young again while we talked today and loved having so many great memories come flooding back. 

3. I ended my trip to the Eugene area by driving to Creswell and visiting Rita again. I started working with Rita in 1993. She was almost 50 and I was almost 40 and today we got back to talking about spirituality and philosophy just like we did thirty years ago when we started our team teaching project. Whereas Rita was in bed the whole time I visited her on Saturday, today she was up, she fixed herself a meal, and we sat at her dining table the whole time I was there. While Rita's physical being is declining, her mental capacity is not. As we talked about prayer and David Hume and the nature of God and other huge questions, she was as sharp and insightful as ever. It was a great visit and I hope to see Rita again in early December. 

I left Rita's and endured the rain, snow, wind, and darkness on I-5 and drove to Patrick and Megans apartment where we shared pizza together while they watched Get Back and I completed the series of things I usually do on my laptop in the morning. 

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