Enjoying Community With Perfect (But Delightful), Strangers

        Good evening,

A busy, but fantastic day. The weather was in the mid-seventies, with a slight breeze. Spoke with a bleach blonde-haired woman from Nassau County in Long Island today. She emphasized she was from the South Shore. She marveled about the weather we have here, in the Bay Area.

       She commented about the lovely temperature, how our weather cools down at night. She's out this way, visiting her son who now lives here. I told her I've never have known what it's like for it to be hot at night.
Even if the weather goes to the high 90's, the fog rolls in at night, in the Bay Area, bringing the temperature to the 60's. It's our natural air conditioning. I'm a lucky dude. Sorry, for the California speak.

       I helped out with a garage sale this morning. I spoke with customers in Tagalog, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, a little Italian and of course, English. It was fun haggling in different languages. Three times, a friend involved with the garage sale (there were three women) would say something to me and I'd answer in the foreign language I was using at that moment with a customer---my brain was stuck in the mode I was conversing. I didn't realize I wasn't speaking English when I replied. Funny how the brain works. When I speak in another language, I just think in that language, no translating necessary.

      The sun-baked neck of this writer is red, itchy.  I can't resist scratching it.  Lately, I've been an indoors type of guy.  I guess I'm  now officially a red-neck.  But if that was the price for a priceless morning and afternoon, I'll take it.

      Afterwards, this afternoon, I spent time with a friend. Our moveable fellowship started at Starbucks, followed by a walk, eventually ending our time at a Thai restaurant.  I really enjoy speaking Left-handed language. That's what we did, all afternoon; it's deeply satisfying. Most of my friends are left-handed.  It just works out that way.  Even two of my three sons are left-handed; so was today's afternoon friend. 

     I arrived at home, pooped.  As I sank into the couch, I could feel waves of weariness washing over my body, the results of having had a tremendous workout..  Today's workout was four hours of moving furniture.  I was the only guy among those overseeing the yard/garage sale. This meant all the dressers, cabinets, furniture, couches, etc,  were hefted by me onto the trucks that the garage-sale hunters drove as they prowled Saturday's streets, looking for a good garage sale deal.  Ninety percent of the buyers were women, or older, retired guys.  So, I did heavy lifting, today.  I'm thankful for a good back and strong arms.

      So, here, I am, tired, but I'm tired with the deliciously wonderful tiredness one has when completing a wonderful, but physically demanding day, afternoon and evening.