The Post-Spring Break Narrative

Well Spring Break has come and gone, once again a fairly uneventful benchmark in the school year for me. I did take Thursday and Friday off, and spent the days reading and walking and dreaming. And doing laundry. I took a walk on Sunday in the early morning, too early for most respectable people to be out and about. The greenbelt that frames the biking trail, which is basically a glorified irrigation ditch, had a low-lying misty fog hovering above it like an ethereal blanket. Unfortunately I did not capture it in this photo. It was a tule fog really, and briefly transported me to the Middle Earth of Tolkien's fantasy, at least within my own imagination, and it lasted just as long as I could ignore the existence of tract housing framing either side of the trails. Early morning scenery, damp with mist and early morning dewdrops and full of the charm of mystery, certainly can inspire imaginations. And mine does tend to wander wild. And in the physical sense I wander often. Wanderlust, as the Germans might say.

Of course it may have been a contributing factor that this past weekend I watched the entire Hobbit, which is no small feat, being just shy of eight hours in length. So I found myself to be already predisposed into that mindset of fantasy and lush expansive landscapes. And it has been awhile since I did a movie marathon of sorts like that, and on the literary side I am complementing this by working my way through the entire Tolkien saga, starting with The Simarillon. Goals!

The Simarillon, incidentally, is a bit of a rough read. It's laden with names, names, and more names. From people to rivers to lands to mountains, the book throws a myriad of names at you. And everything and everyone has two or three names - a proper historical name, a modern name, other names that different races have used, and on and on. It's no exaggeration to say that hundreds of names get thrown at you...and sons and siblings often have similar names. Finwe and Finarfin and Fingolfin, oh my!

But anyways, on my walk this past Sunday I started drafting this post in my mind. My best writing is done on my walks, and unfortunately most of it is lost by the time I actually sit down to write. The material that actually gets written is a much more clumsy narrative. I suppose I should take a tip from the late Steve Allen and carry a tape recorder around with me, to record my sudden inspirations in real time. I could be a real profound writer if only I could just spread the content of my brain at will on the page. Like jelly on toast.

Perhaps I could be an author, a novelist even, if only I could find the material to write about that anyone would actually want to read.

I suppose I could write about my wanderlust.

But there's little time for that now, as this week it's back to work, whilst the parents have departed just today on a cruise to Hawaii. Good of them! It is fortunately not a particularly busy week, with only three concerts in four days (this Friday being a holiday, not directly for my birthday but might as well be). The calm before the storm is what it is, as April will bring 38 concerts in 28 days. Busy! I'm not looking forward to that. But it is what it is, and frankly it's not even usual for the first month of spring at Sac State. 

If I survive past this week, one more time, one more year, perhaps I'll write again.

Maybe next time I'll have a more cohesive and prepared narrative to share.

Nah, who am I fooling, it will be my usual pedantic ramblings.

10...

Well it's 10 days till my next birthday. Not a milestone of any sorts, but inching incrementally towards one in any case. Two more years till I hit the 50 mark! And this year marks 30 years since my high school graduation. Wow! 30 years! I don't know if anyone is planning a reunion. There's been some scuttlebutt on the alumni sites about one, but it's hard to say. I haven't been to one, not at 10 or 20 or 25 years. I actually only heard about one happening, at 20 years I think, and I heard about it only a few weeks before it supposedly happened. I had a vacation planned already and was out of town. So it goes.

And it's spring break now at Sac State, weeks before my son's and everyone else's, it seems. Tomorrow, Wednesday, is my Friday, as I've taken the rest of the week off. I haven't made any plans per se. But it should be clear weather-wise for my mini-holiday. It's been raining and windy today and for most of the year so far, it seems. Far more rain than we've been getting in recent years. Which is a good thing. California has been parched! It would be nice to hit the summer and not be inundated with all sorts of several drought warnings and water use restrictions and so on. So we are fortunate to have so much rain, at least so far, in 2023.

I like the rain.

I could do without the wind.

And I've just about recuperated from the time change, the "spring forward", which occurred just over a week ago. Honestly I don't know why we observe this antiquated ritual. It seems no one else does either. Lawmakers argue about it every year, and despite having bipartisan support for its dissolution, no one can ever seem to agree to abolish it. There's been rumors - just rumors - that this was supposed to be the last change. We'd go to Daylight Saving Time this month...and then leave it there. I have no idea if this is true. How can anyone know if anything is true these days?

But it took me awhile to adjust this year. I guess I'm getting old. Oddly, I seem to wake up even earlier despite the time being later. I'm backwards. Maybe it's just psychological. Connor had no problems. His internal clock is in far better shape, resetting itself with ease. I now miss those days!

And while people seem to agree we should stop throwing time back and forth like some intangible sports ball, what they can't seem to agree upon is whether we should stay sprung forward or stay fallen back. Of course not, no one can agree on anything these days. I'd much prefer the Daylight Savings Time, the "spring forward". With work work and school occupying so much of Connor's and my time, why wouldn't we want more daylight in the evening? When we're home, and have some free time. Driving in the dark morning isn't so bad. It really isn't. Nor does it last too long anyway, with the days lengthening slowly but surely. Incrementally.

Like my age.

So here I sit, on the eve of the Friday of my spring break week, struggling to find some point of inspiration to share, to justify the supposed wisdom that should accompany my advanced age. Something that someday, perhaps, my son will read back after I'm long gone and fertilizing some flowers in a field somewhere, that will make him realize I was a pretty thoughtful and interesting person. 

I got nothing.

But that's okay, the world is full of examples of wisdom to share with the general populace. Just check the fortune cookies at your local Chinese restaurant. Smart stuff! But as I approach the top of the proverbial hill - not quite there yet as I'm only turning 48 - I do think the view is pretty good. And as if to prove my point, here's a picture from he North Natomas Regional Park, taken two days ago on the one day of the week where it wasn't cloudy and threatening to wash us all away.

The world is pretty! I hope it's still so, when my son hits the age I am now, and he's looking at the state of things and reminiscing about how his life has gone. I hope he finds that it's gone well, or at least as well as mine has gone. Not that it was any sort of picnic; there were good days and bad days, and good times and bad times, but in general it's gone pretty well. Which is a way of saying I can't complain. No regrets!

And in just over a week and a half I'll hit another birthday, which undoubtedly will feel like just another day in the week, just another day in the month. Honestly I've had enough birthdays, I don't need anymore. Save for the purpose of reminding myself that I'm still alive. Perhaps I'll treat myself out to pancakes that day. 

Well there's something to look forward to. Pancakes! In just 10 more days. Let the countdown begin!