Mar. 19
We got a text from our friend Stephanie in New Jersey today, and she said that she is sitting out in the sun enjoying the 80 degree weather. Meanwhile, we are in Douglas, Arizona being pelted with the hail that is beating against the sides of the vehicle! The winds are so high, and the temperature so low (42) that it seems better just to stay where we are until tomorrow when the bad weather blows through. We are in a safe location, with easy access to any food that we need, and a Redbox nearby so we can rent movies for the evening. (All that is code for: “we’re parked in a Wal-Mart lot.”)
Lorraine bought a bunch of turquoise beads when we were in Truth or Consequences, and so she is passing the time by stringing them into necklaces. I am making sure that the espresso continues to flow. Speaking of flowing, avocados are 58 cents apiece here in this part of Arizona, so there WILL be guacamole with tonight’s meal.
I’ve been reading a book that I’m really enjoying. It is by a guy named Pete Shotten, who was a boyhood and lifelong friend of John Lennon. Those of you who know me know how many books about the Beatles I have read over the years, but there were a lot of things in this book that I had never heard before. This guy was close to John his whole life, up until the point where John moved to America, living much of the time in John’s English country estate with him, working as his assistant. Lots of interesting stories about the craziness that resulted from John’s impulsive whims and decisions. It seems that he was a musical genius, but exhibited very little common sense in any other aspect of his life. Because of his enormous wealth, he was able to delegate or ignore the everyday realities that the rest of us have to deal with. And not surprisingly, it didn’t always yield the idyllic life that we all thought he was leading. But all in all, a fascinating read for a Beatle fanatic like me.