A "do nothing" day.
It’s been “one of those days”. A day on which I had nothing on my docket.
Of course I walked, fed the cats, and had breakfast. But what next? No plans for the day, no important chores.
Ben and I went out to the Mennonite owned fruit stand (about five miles east of here), and I got some sweet peaches, a cantaloupe, and some tasty pole beans.
That took about 45 minutes, and I dropped Ben off at his home, knowing that he had theatre and dinner plans for the balance of the afternoon and early evening.
So I “diddled the day away”. I spent all too much time on the internet, checking news from five continents.
But I did come across a London “Daily Telegraph” article which named my friend, and former St. James's, Cambridge colleague The Revd. Dr. Ian Douglas as one of the 50 most influential people in the Anglican Communion.
This pleased me greatly. I have known Ian since he was a High School student in Fitchburg, MA, and have followed his ecclesiastical career with great interest and admiration.
Both he and I were delighted when I became Rector in the Cambridge parish, where he and his family hung their hats. Ian taught, and stilll teaches at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge.
Knowing that Ian could not, and would not "toot his own horn", I sent the "Telegraph" article to many of our mutual friends.
I tried to rest on the sofa, but Adelaide decided that she wanted to lay prone on my belly, carving attention. Sleep was impossible.
I spent a lovely hour on the Lanai reading the autobiography of a new Sarasota acquaintance, Adrian Swain. He was, in turn, a World War II bomber pilot; an FBI agent; a CIA operative in Vietnam and Laos; and a Drug Enforcement Agency spook.
Adrian's wonderful wife "Anno" is a volunteer at Resurrection House, and I always sit with this couple when I attend St. Boniface Church.
As I read on a balmy afternoon, so Adelaide slept on a nearby chair. It was quite the scene of "domestic bliss". Ada prefers to sleep on my bed, so she did not join us!
After dinner I ventured out to the street to get some fresh evening air.
Down came "Sid" in her electric wheelchair, with her pooch "Sparky".
Sid is 66 years old and has Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). Her very survival is a wonder, and her spirit is an inspiration.
Neither of us was in a hurry. So we chatted and I learned a great deal about her life. She grew up on a small farm in rural Ohio, and met her husband Bob when he worked for her father. They had a great marriage, and were parted when Bob died
2 1/2 years ago (six months before I moved here).
For once I was so pleased that I had no agenda, no plans for the rest of the day. Thus I could have a fabulous conversation with my neighbour Sid.
(I asked her the reason for her first name, and she replied that her Dad had really wanted a son).
"Busy doing nothing" gave me time to listen to Sid, and to learn a thing or two.
Of course I walked, fed the cats, and had breakfast. But what next? No plans for the day, no important chores.
Ben and I went out to the Mennonite owned fruit stand (about five miles east of here), and I got some sweet peaches, a cantaloupe, and some tasty pole beans.
That took about 45 minutes, and I dropped Ben off at his home, knowing that he had theatre and dinner plans for the balance of the afternoon and early evening.
So I “diddled the day away”. I spent all too much time on the internet, checking news from five continents.
But I did come across a London “Daily Telegraph” article which named my friend, and former St. James's, Cambridge colleague The Revd. Dr. Ian Douglas as one of the 50 most influential people in the Anglican Communion.
This pleased me greatly. I have known Ian since he was a High School student in Fitchburg, MA, and have followed his ecclesiastical career with great interest and admiration.
Both he and I were delighted when I became Rector in the Cambridge parish, where he and his family hung their hats. Ian taught, and stilll teaches at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge.
Knowing that Ian could not, and would not "toot his own horn", I sent the "Telegraph" article to many of our mutual friends.
I tried to rest on the sofa, but Adelaide decided that she wanted to lay prone on my belly, carving attention. Sleep was impossible.
I spent a lovely hour on the Lanai reading the autobiography of a new Sarasota acquaintance, Adrian Swain. He was, in turn, a World War II bomber pilot; an FBI agent; a CIA operative in Vietnam and Laos; and a Drug Enforcement Agency spook.
Adrian's wonderful wife "Anno" is a volunteer at Resurrection House, and I always sit with this couple when I attend St. Boniface Church.
As I read on a balmy afternoon, so Adelaide slept on a nearby chair. It was quite the scene of "domestic bliss". Ada prefers to sleep on my bed, so she did not join us!
After dinner I ventured out to the street to get some fresh evening air.
Down came "Sid" in her electric wheelchair, with her pooch "Sparky".
Sid is 66 years old and has Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). Her very survival is a wonder, and her spirit is an inspiration.
Neither of us was in a hurry. So we chatted and I learned a great deal about her life. She grew up on a small farm in rural Ohio, and met her husband Bob when he worked for her father. They had a great marriage, and were parted when Bob died
2 1/2 years ago (six months before I moved here).
For once I was so pleased that I had no agenda, no plans for the rest of the day. Thus I could have a fabulous conversation with my neighbour Sid.
(I asked her the reason for her first name, and she replied that her Dad had really wanted a son).
"Busy doing nothing" gave me time to listen to Sid, and to learn a thing or two.
The "do nothing" days are often the best ones, aren't they? :)
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