It is a little past 2 and I am seated in the parking lot of Meat Point having just finished a meeting. The AC in the car is just starting to kick in and I haven’t begun to really sweat.
Ten minutes prior I was finishing some Turkish coffee and sitting with a rabbi and a Baptist.
The Baptist wants to know how a rabbi who grew up in New York and a guy from LA know people in common in both of our former states and how we both know the same guy in Jerusalem.
“It is Jewish geography. We’re a small crew, it seems strange to you but this is common for us.”
As soon as I finish checking my voicemail and email for messages that require immediate attention I’ll put my seat belt on and head west towards my home.
Been one hell of a week and I smile thinking about how well I have done compartmentalizing things. Took some doing, especially Monday when I thought about whether I might be able to figure out how to climb through the phone.
“I don’t think you’d take this tone if I was standing in front of you.”
None of that is said aloud nor the 500 other words flowing through my head. I am far more contained than some people realize.
Some of that comes from having lived alone more than once, seven years later I haven’t forgotten how that last run went.
How Many Toilet Brushes Do You Need?
The package from Amazon is open and there is a new toilet brush wrapped in a plastic bag next to the box.
“How many toilet brushes do we need?”
“I don’t know, how many do you need. Clean up enough blood and muck and sometimes you think it is time to replace the current one.”
No one appreciates the flat voice with which it is served, but I am lost in thought about a few too many other things.
Facebook memories says it is seven years since the DirecTV installer walked through the screen door. Today it is kind of funny but it wasn’t at the time.
There were more than a few things going on at the time and I remember sneezing and hoping I didn’t tear the stitches from the double hernia surgery two weeks before.
I remember feeling angry because I had to make 19,922,982 trips from the car to the third floor by myself because I wasn’t supposed to lift anything heavy.
I remember trying to be good and not do anything to hurt myself because I was here by myself and it would suck to have to drive myself to the ER.
As it worked out that ended up happening in spite of my efforts to avoid it, but sometimes that is how life goes.
Seven years later I look back and even though I don’t like some of what I see I feel pretty good overall because most of the really hard stuff was overcome.
Talked with the younger Mr. Wilner about that very thing today and reminded him that sometimes it is really freaking hard to have perspective when you are in the middle of it.
Hell, I look back seven years and then look at myself now and I see the years. It aged me.
But standing on the other side of most of it I can smile and for a while I wasn’t sure. I have learned not to verbalize every question because some are answered just by getting up each day.
Thankful For Friday
I muscled my way through most of the week which is not my preferred way of operating. It is funny because when I was 16 someone described me as uncivilized barbarian and I took it upon myself to revel in that description.
Sometimes you are the hero and sometimes you are the villain but whatever and whomever you are you can lean into it.
I still enjoy that uncivilized barbarian bit but there is so much to be said for working smarter and not harder. It is almost without exception my goal.
Why not be more effective and more efficient whenever possible. The muscle part shouldn’t be a regular method of handling things except there are moments when systemic issues prevent working smarter.
So sometimes you have to lower your shoulder and push with all your might.
That is how much of this week went. Things that should have been easy were hard and people that should have been allies and assets were not.
So I remembered the tricks, tactics and tools I had to learn when I lived on the island and brought them out again.
Thankful it is Friday and there is a three day weekend, I am ready.
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