Today’s Word of the Day on my 2021 calendar is “Flaneur,” an idle man about town. It’s a sophisticated description of a retirement bum like myself. So little to do and so much time – that’s my new motto. There are active moments like the morning run and the repair of my chair, but otherwise I’m indeed an idle man. As part of that idleness, I started watching “Flight Attendant” last night, trying to soothe the anger from another frustrating basketball loss. A brand new bottle of Angel’s Envy bourbon provided little relief to my grief.
“Good Grief” is what Charlie Brown would say as Lucy moved the football he was approaching to kick it. “Good Grief” is the current state of I.U. men’s basketball. Fortunately, the Hoosier women are having a good year. Fans are screaming for a new coach, and I have no defense for Archie. He’s had four years to rebuild the program and has failed miserably. Michigan State now Rutgers have added nails to his coffin. I turned off the game last night in disgust. “Good Grief!”
Tomorrow is another “Leadership Meeting” and Sunday a trip into wine country. Otherwise, I’m an idle man, a stroller, urban explorer, lounger, saunterer, or loafer. The poet Charles Baudelaire made such a figure the object of scholarly interest in the 20th century. 
To compare, I am a male that does not work, dressed in my stylish retirement uniform and definitely blasé. Crowds are not allowed in these pandemic times, so I remain apart from it and masked. I do not stroll – only run – and drink, but soon to leave this emerging city. I am the 21st Century Flaneur!
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