i took almost an entire week off my usual routine. To begin the week last Monday, i had stitches removed from my right arm above the elbow. It was from whacking out an early caught melanoma. It was successful. i am clear of the scourge but no golf for at least another two to possibly five weeks. Ugh.

This also played with my mind about my time is coming. Not imminent. But it’s coming. So i worked at what i could. My book is wading through Mombasa where a whole chunk of things happened in a short period of time, not like the long, seemingly forever time off of Oman. So half-way through Mombasa and the week, i took a break.

Turned my attention to honey-dos, except it’s more me than the honey. i hung sunshade on our new trellis duplicating the style of the old one next to it. Next, i’ll hang the lights, build a couple of boxes for storing tools, trash, and junk in the “dog prison” (someday, i really will relate that story, but not for a while). The back and side yards are looking quite a bit more respectable now. We plan to spend more time there. Already, i have been out there past nightfall reading and jotting down my thoughts.

i have been pretty good about staying out all of the frays, offering encouragement to friends and relatives and having discussions with friends i trust will continue with an open mind despite differences in opinions. Learning, i think it’s called.

There is peace in this strategy for an old man. i can step out and look down one side and rest easy with the peace of mind flowing over me:

We talk about putting a fountain and bench out here, a contemplation area if you will, but as with many such plans, it will be a while.

Quite frankly, i am at peace. If i thought i could have a significant impact on positive change, i would be in the thick of it, but i have observed the clanging of cymbals, blazing rhetoric of folks my age, and it seems to just stir them up, stress them out, with no real impact on much of anything except maybe alienate a few friends who disagree with cymbals of their own. i am attempting to digest this clanging noise with calmness. Don’t know if i can do that, but when i do, i am at peace. You young un’s go for it, but please try to correct the core problems, not the superficial ones.

There are other sources of my peace, of course: friends. As mentioned in a Facebook post yesterday, we are meeting a dear friend for a safe lunch in a park today. A number of folks have commented on Nikki McCullough’s artwork newly hung in our kitchen. i tried to find Nikki’s original post of the artwork, which is when i fell in love with it, but i couldn’t. This should give you a better idea of what it really looks like.

Thanks, Nikki.

Peace.