Almost everything about yesterday was disappointing.  I might as well have been running in quicksand, my legs were so sluggish. IU soccer and football, after great expectations, were reduced to embarrassment. Even last night’s cover band, Majesty of Rock, made a mockery of Stix and Journey hits. We left after the first set, despite all that work hauling in lawn chairs and beverages. I decided they hadn’t recovered from whatever illness led to the delay of their performance for several weeks. Our visiting friend from many years past was not impressed, so we quickly avoided any possible post-concert traffic jam. 

Live music has not been part of my life for over a year and a half. The last real show we saw was Barry Manilow in Las Vegas before Covid shut everything down. Santana and Earth Wind Fire have been delayed for a year, as was the case for Jackson Browne that we planned to see in Lake Tahoe. The fires continue to make the air quality very unhealthy but much better than just a few days ago. I think we’ll plan on flying into Reno as planned next week and move on the San Francisco should our Heavenly Valley Marriott resort remain closed. Our family get together has once again been disrupted, just as Kauai was a year ago. 

I’m in charge of cooking today – beer can chicken on the grill. I also plan to call an old friend this afternoon that I haven’t seen since living in Indianapolis twenty years ago. He’s since moved to Buffalo, Tampa, and Shreveport, Louisiana, while we’ve gone from Illinois to Texas, Oregon, and Florida. During the years of working together at the Indianapolis TV station, we would jokingly exchange a fruitcake every year. The tradition lasted about fourteen years before it mysteriously disappeared. Our friendly connection also seemed to vanish as we both continued to advance our careers. We have a lot to catch-up about, including our joint quest to find the perfect cheeseburger, now that I have his phone number thanks to Facebook Messenger. There have been more than twenty such reconnections in 2021 already, along with many new friendships made in our neighborhood. Staying in touch with those from my past is one of my favorite retirement projects.