It's Hailing!!!

Intense hailstorm this afternoon like I've never seen before. Instead of the usual three or four minute duration this one seemed to go on at full intensity for at least fifteen minutes. In its aftermath were cars crawling along I-5 and inching up the overpass crossing the freeway at Brooks ….. Then on the other side of the overpass, the ground was clear. I-5 was the line where the storm ended. Though there were three or four follow-up storms with their own boundaries. Pretty wild afternoon!!

Sixty-Three Eve

Wow!! It's now the eve of turning sixty-three and I feel incredibly fortunate and thankful. I might not have made it if I hadn't broken down and went to see a doctor eight months ago. His words: "You were in pretty bad shape" replay in my thoughts each day. I never asked how bad. Just stayed focused on getting better.

So here I am. My heart still hurts (not in the literal physical pain sense) but here I am!! And not planning on going away. Waiting for something. Waiting for one more chance! Waiting for magic!

An old high school friend sent me a Facebook friend request yesterday. I would have sent one to him earlier but I wondered if he would remember me? It's kind of funny but when I accepted his friend request, just for an instant I felt like I was eighteen again. There was a short flashback to 1974. And I would happily forfeit a day or two from the end of my life just to go back and revisit all those old times and friendships.

Notes

• A dream last night that my boss was coaching a basketball team that I was a member of and he wouldn't put me into the game. 
• Stopped at a playground in 37 degree weather to shoot hoops for the first time in several years. It was like the feet, ankles, knees and hips have forgotten their roles in this process. And to think that at one time shooting a jump shot felt so effortless.
• Why do I always feel like such a lowlife scoop of pond scum whenever I tell those girl scouts selling cookies, "No thanks?" It's not like I haven't bought more than my share over the years.
• I write down and file away two and three word phrases that come to mind for future use in my attempts at poetry, with no idea at the time how they'll eventually be used. Is that cheating?