Two Days in July.........

After weeks of backbreaking heat, burning sun, and brutal humidity we got a real break yesterday. Yes, the sun was out but somehow it felt less severe. The humidity was gone. The breeze was cooling. It was like an early Spring day and I was out early.

With nothing to do and no where in particular to be, I lowered all the windows on my car and just drove around. I decided to start in Sewarren since I hadn't been there in a while. They've come a long way since Sandy hit them, and the improvements showed. People were back in their houses and the streets were free of debris.

Along one of the side streets I came across this guy.

I pulled over to the side, pretending that I'd gotten a phone call and miming a conversation on my cell as I watched him go from house to house. I came to the conclusion that he was leaving fliers in the mailboxes. I left him to it, and drove on.

It was too nice a day and I was in too good a mood. Still, I started to feel the urge.

I drove into Avenel, and entered the PathMark shopping area. As I made the turn, this guy was in front of me.

This time, I had to drive on by. It was just too open. Damn!

I decided not to go into the store, but drove around the back. That's where I came upon this guy, loading some stuff in his trunk.

I had the itch now. It was like something crawling under my skin. I looked around quickly but we were alone. I swung my car to the right so that he'd be on my driver's side.

Point, press, Flash.

I left the lot and headed up St. George's Avenue into Rahway. There's a comic book store in a strip mall up there that I haven't been to in a while and I wanted to see if they were still there and, if so, what their hours were.

Having checked that out, I drove around the back so that I could come out at a light. That's when my phone went off. I pulled over to answer it.

It was an automated message from my pharmacy that a prescription I'd called in was ready. I cut it off and was going to drive off when I saw this guy.

He was on his way back to his truck, and I was in the perfect place. I inched a bit forward as he entered the back of his truck. I had plenty of time to look around.

Point, press, Flash.

I made the turn, caught the light, and carried on with my day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last night it was so cool that I had to get up for a blanket. After that, I slept like a baby. In fact, I was  so comfortable that I slept in this morning.

It was like a day in September today. The kind of weather that I like, although maybe it could've had a bit more sunshine. I only had the 2 front windows open in the car.

I needed to do some food shopping, so I headed for the local ShopRite. The landscaping/cleaning crew was there making a lot of noise and walking through the lot without regard for any of the shoppers. When I'd gotten what I went for, I sat in my car watching this one guy drag a garbage can full of trimmings across the lot - paying no attention to anyone trying to go in or out of the lot.

I watched him climb into the back of his truck then started my car. I drove down one row then up the next so that he'd be on my passenger side. There was no one in the immediate vicinity and I took a chance.

Point, press, Flash.

I drove home, dropped off what I'd bought, and drove out towards Fords. I was going to go to the thrift store in South Plainfield because Thursdays are discount days for cardholders (and I am one), but they wouldn't be open for another hour. I drove in and out of several of the cross streets until I came across this guy.

He was moving at a good clip, and there was no one else around. I passed him on my passenger side.

Point, press, Flash.

I didn't find anything I liked at the thrift store so I headed home.

Yesterday was like an early Spring day and today was like one from the Fall.

That seems a little strange but it's just two days in July.

Responses.........

I've mentioned before that I go to church on Sunday.

 Well, not so much these last couple of months. I've had some physical problems that have made me change when I take some meds, and - to be honest- there's been a couple of really hot days that I didn't want to go out at all.

But I went this morning. It's sort of an anniversary for me.

Five years ago today, I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Disease.

I won't go into anything specific right now. What counts is that I'm still here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What struck me during the Mass this morning was the Responsorial Psalm. This takes place between the Old Testament and New Testament readings prior to the Gospel. The Lector reads the Psalm and the congregants respond with a particular line from the text. The line this morning was..

"Turn to the Lord in your need, and you shall live."

Tie that in to what I was remembering from five years ago, and you can imagine what was going through my mind.

After Mass, I sat in my car trying to make sense of these feelings. I remember everything that happened during the whole experience. Every action, every reaction...

 every response.

I don't remember turning to God, particularly.

I don't remember feeling depressed.

I don't remember despairing.

I do remember doing what they wanted me to do. Blood tests. Doctor's visits. Changes to my meds. Whatever.

I do remember not being scared. Not being afraid.

I don't remember ever thinking that I was going to die.

Thinking  back on it all this morning, what I guess I remember most was a sort of calm. A kind of acceptance. Whatever was going to happen would happen.

Perhaps that, in a way, was turning to God - letting His will be done. I don't know.

 All I do know is that I'm still here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had breakfast at Perkins.

I stopped at Shoprite for the paper and some other things and went home.

When I got there, I found a small box on the seat of the recliner in my living room. There was a note on top.


                  You'll know when to open this.

                               G.

Gordon.

 I haven't heard from him in months and then he leaves me a package. I wasn't sure what to do.

I stared at it for a long time.

Finally, I put it in a cabinet in my kitchen, under the place where my microwave is.

I didn't know what else to do with it.

I didn't know how I should react to it.

I didn't know how to respond.

An Interesting Day

It used to be that the really hot weather didn't come in until August. That isn't true anymore. Lately, we've been dealing with heat waves, where there's nothing but bright sun and blistering heat, mixed with depressingly overcast days with crushing humidity. The last few days have been a mixture of both.

Now I go out earlier then usual because I want to be home before the sun starts to bake things. I never leave my house with less then 4 bottles of water. I've dealt with dehydration before and I don't want to have to deal with being hospitalized again.

I drove up St. George Avenue to Shoprite. I wanted to get today's paper, my usual lottery tickets, and to see what was on sale. To get to that parking lot, you have to take a jug-handle (a distinctly New Jersey way of making a left turn) so I was in the right lane. As I got closer, the car to my left sped up, cut me off, and made the turn ahead of me.

Son of a Bitch.

I followed, and parked on his left side. He was on the phone.

I didn't think. I just acted.

Point, press, Flash.

I went into the store, bought what I went for and a blueberry muffin for breakfast, and got back into my car.

I was feeling good.

Interesting.

I had a prescription to pick up at Walmart, so I cut through a nearby housing development to get to Route 9. Along the way I passed Pelzman Park and saw this guy heading my way.

It's a quiet, out-of-the-way area and we were the only one's around.

Point, press, Flash.

I made the left onto Avenel, the left onto Route 9, and headed for Walmart.

I picked up my prescription, opened the muffin and a bottle of water and headed for Metuchen. The library would be opening soon.

There was nothing interesting at the library and I headed for the thrift shop in South Plainfield that I frequent.

Nothing interesting there either. I had finished the muffin and was on my second bottle of water. I was headed for home when I remembered something.

I live in Woodbridge Proper. They have some interesting parking regulations, but I'm exempt because I have a Resident Parking Permit. Well, the other day I noticed that my permit was due to expire soon, so I decided to stop by the Municipal Building on Main Street and get it renewed.

I drove down to Route 27 and, as I was coming up to my turn off, came up behind this jogger.

 I found it interesting that this guy was out jogging in this heat. No one else was. In fact, there was no one else around at all.

Point, press, Flash.

I made my turn and got to the Municipal Building in about 20 minutes.

There was no problem renewing my permit.

As I was leaving, 2 policemen came in. They were discussing the fact that they'd found a guy dead in his car in the Shoprite parking lot earlier. It was the heat, they decided.

I smiled to myself as I walked back to my car.

It had been an interesting day.