1. I arrived at the Fitness Center with a goal in mind. I would exercise as long as it took me to burn a certain number of calories. I was disappointed when 12 noon rolled around and the gym was closing and I hadn't reached my goal. I didn't arrive at the center early enough, but I still got in some good exercise.
Lately, I've been working out while listening to albums from 1985 when three albums I loved at the time were released: Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms, Sting, The Dream of Blue Turtles, and the Talking Heads, Little Creatures. Today, Sting serenaded me for the first forty minutes of my session. I wondered whether, at age 70, I would still have the high regard for Sting's songwriting and his work on this album with Branford Marsalis that I did when I was 31 or 32 years old when I purchased this LP.
I do.
As my mind traveled back to 1985-86, I thought a lot about how much I was loving my teaching assignments the Univ of Oregon and how much I enjoyed fellow graduate students. I loved these albums that were coming out and often played them while teaching myself to shop and cook on a small budget in my cozy basement apartment on W. Broadway in Eugene. I had great friends, was into a lot of independent and international movies showing at Cinema 7 and the Bijou that came out around that time, and enjoyed hanging out with my then girlfriend.
I also started reading all kinds of material as I tried to launch the writing of my doctoral thesis.
I loved the reading. I learned a lot. When it came to writing the thesis, though, I was lost and I never found my way.
Sting's music called up a lot of warm memories, but also took me back to this failure in my life.
Yin and yang.
2. After working out, I parked in the Walmart parking lot and PRESTO! a Walmart employee showed up at the back of the Sube with groceries for Christy. She loaded them up and I transported the goods to Christy's house and she's set for a while.
3. Debbie was watching a movie on her computer and I decided to join Copper and work on the Saturday and Sunday NYTimes crossword puzzles with him. I lay down beside Copper and extended my left arm and he put one of his cheeks on my open hand and purred. I think little by little, Copper is warming up to the idea of positioning himself closer to me when we are together. For much of the rest of the time we were together, I also put my hand on his back and on his belly and this further relaxed Copper.
He was content.
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