A Truly Beautiful Day

Monday I intended to resume work on my book on the history of the Jacksonville fire department but…

How many times in the past month have I started this journal with those words?

I often repeat myself.

Instead of working on the fire history, I enjoyed a perfectly beautiful day.

Clouds overcast the sky and a tiny nip of chill laced the air, so I sat in my chair with pipe, tobacco pouch, tin of matches, ashtray and coffee mug right at hand, and a book open in my lap — and I dozed off and on all day.

Not a single phone call.

Not a single visitor.

I imagine Heaven must be a lot like my day today.

When Ginny got home from work we went out for supper before going grocery shopping at Publix. I’d planned our two-week menu so there was a lot of stuff to buy.

As Ginny finished up our list, I meandered outside the store to sit on a bench, watch the stars come out, and smoke another pipe.

A couple walked by and the beautiful young woman commented on the aroma of my pipe.

He went inside the store but she strolled back, joined me on the bench and began to ask questions. As a curvaceous young blond, she was fashion-model beautiful but she also proved to be a brilliant conversationalist.

By that I mean she asked leading questions to draw me out and keep me talking about my wife, my books, my blog, my website …

As I said, she was a brilliant conversationalist.

Her show of interest gave me a real lift.

No, she was not hitting on me — just a nice young lady being kind to an old man.

Speaking of beautiful girls, let me record what happened Sunday:

Ginny and I attended a church which has these huge stained glass windows. I suppose they depict biblical scenes but I really couldn’t say because I didn’t pay that much attention to them.

The preacher expounded on the meaning of the Ten Commandments, but my attention focused on how the light passed through those slivers of colored glass and bathed Ginny with an ethereal, angelic glow.

We attended an early service and when we arrived the church was dim. But as the sun rose, it poured through facets of colored glass and focused on Ginny’s almost pure white hair. This gave her a warm glow of gold or red or green or blue as the sun moved higher and higher illuminating her as she prayed.

I’ve never seen her more beautiful.

That’s another phrase I use all the time “I’ve never seen you more beautiful”. I remember that I told her that in Dave’s Dinner on Saturday as she sat across from me engrossed in her library book…. And Friday morning as she drove off for work.

I’ve said that phrase more and more over the past 38 years as I see more and more facets of my beautiful wife.

I have never understood what such a beautiful woman saw in me to want to keep me around for all this time.

Must be the aroma of my pipe.

Yeah, that’s it.

There can be no other explanation.

My pipe is a chick magnet.