TUESDAY

A pretty good day, except that I ran into problems with the Access Van's late arrival to take me to see Jim. I won't go into detail, but it was annoying. While I waited, Vickie's friend, Kate, came walking up and we chatted. She's having trouble with her neighbors upstairs, along with other problems and I commiserated with her. I got to the care center about 3:30 when Jim was about to have dinner. Dinner at 3:30? Yes, they have an odd meal schedule, with breakfast at 10:30, but they supplement it with snacks and so on, I understand.

Jim and I sat in the living room while he ate chicken noodle soup and, as ever, we covered a range of topics, with me doing most of the talking. However,  he contributed and it was interesting. We talked about his condition (what is it?), Donald Trump (boo, boo, and AAGH!), and the condition of the country. I told him about one of my favorite non-major media figures, Chris Hedges  and will send him Chris' latest article--on our current rule of idiots--as soon as I get my printer fixed:                                  https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-rule-of-idiots

 As I was about to leave, Jim expressed how much he enjoyed seeing me--considering his usual silent stoicism, this was practically a bear hug. As I waited for my ride outside, I fell into conversation with one of the aides, John. He's Filipino and his English is a little hard to follow, but we had nice talk. I was interested to hear that he mentioned Jim's power of attorney and I recognized the name, which Jim had mentioned. Hmm...the more I wonder about Jim's situation--and the whereabouts of his possessions--the more puzzled I get. The other aide is Fernando, who seems a nice guy, too, although his English is also a tad--well, problematic. 

 The Access Van arrived at 5:00 to take me home and I was pleased to see the driver was Eric, a neat guy who had picked me up before. Eric is about 30, I guess, and works full-time, but goes to Ventura College, also. (I know too well how that works--it took me 23 years to get my B.A.). BTW, that's where Jim taught philosophy for fifty years. 

I was starved when I got home--I had had very little for lunch and next time, I'll bring mine and eat with Jim--so ate soon after I got home. I had a pizza in the freezer and had bought a pizza cutter months ago, so finally got to use it. Tasted great.

This morning, I put the bath mat and bath rugs in the wash and I want to mop the floors and clean the bathroom after breakfast. Then I'll decide where I want to go today: to town and the library, where I have Jonathan Kellerman's new book, Open Season, on hold or to Ralph's shopping center and eat lunch at the fountain? Dunno yet...