Summer 2012
Spent a wonderful evening on the porch with my lady sipping Courvoisier and smoking the old half of what was once a nice Rothschild Maduro before I left it outside for a few days A bit crumbly but nice.
Her husband died last year and there are a lot of things need to be serviced, repaired or replaced. It has been cathartic for me. We had been friends for a long time and there was always that spark between us, but now that a year has passed since she became a widow – we have moved to a far different relationship.
Some nights we spend at her beautiful home up on the hillside overlooking the city and sometimes we stay in town at my townhouse with the great view of the mountains at sunset. Not a bad life. We both feel a bit blessed right now, and just a little apprehensive about hoping it doesn’t end. You know the feeling – when things get just a little too perfect you begin to worry that it might go away.
Perhaps this time it may not.
We are both at an age where the wind is fairly consistent. She is retired except for the occasional gig as an expert witness in a civil suit – and I am at the end of a long and fairly successful career. A pretty good fit.
It improves your reputation, I am discovering, when you are accompanied by a beautiful and elegant woman. I have not always had the greatest taste in women so it is strange to be complimented so often when out on the town.
Elegant I suppose is the correct word for her countenance. For an old cowboy, I seem to have stepped a little out of my league.
I rather enjoy the elevated air.
But there is something odd happening to time. It continues to slow down. A recurrent phenomenon that allows me to make good decisions and be patient in all things – but it is worrisome. Scenes from my past keep slipping into the present. Why do scenes from my past slowly roll by in my mind like some old newsreel? Not vague thoughts but detailed and fully fleshed vignettes of both the important and the mundane.
I will grant you that I am the sum total of all the rather unbelievable events that bring me to this keyboard – however, I do not care to relive them.
Yet I do.
Summer 2012
Sierra Mountains
I danced the Ghost Dance last night at sunset - it had been a long time. The moon was large and just visible thru the pine trees and I am feeling a little better, finally getting rested. The water from this remote hot springs seems to help my knees and it certainly helps my soul.
I drove to the closest small town with a grocery store yesterday afternoon and bought 3 fried chicken breasts, 2 small watermelons, a jug of diet cranberry juice and $40.00 in lottery tickets. I try to never forget what the old woman said about buying the lottery – but, as of this reporting, not much happening on the hillbilly-retirement- fund scene.
Soaking in the hot springs on a near perfect night high in the mountains with the owls and bats all diving about is a fine way to clear your head. And mine has been awfully thick lately. Sometimes I sleep too long, sometimes not long enough - too many thoughts and too many flashbacks.
I decided to drive back to the city at 1:30 Am, wasting the rent on the cabin, just to sleep in my own bed.
I have a date with The Lady today at 4:00 and not a hell of a lot other commitments pending. We will probably drive up to the Lake and have supper, seems like it’s going to be a great afternoon.
Not too sure why I find myself writing, but it just feels right. Perhaps the wheels of change are in motion...
When I spoke to The Lady she was all geared up for a nice night away from town. So I retooled and found a lake view suite available at Harveys on the South Shore.
We met at the townhouse and I added my luggage to hers in her Lexus. As much as I love my big truck it is not fair to ask her to climb in and out when we are dressed up. And she was dressed up in a grand way. There was no question that I had made the right decision when I saw her sparkling blue outfit. Complete with red white and blue accessories.
Sometimes the cowboy in me fails to rise to the appropriate social level when dealing with The Lady and her friends - but not tonight.
We arrived at valet checked in and set up house in a lovely suite overlooking Lake Tahoe. These are very nice digs.
I brought a bottle of champagne, a bottle of Baileys and bottle of vanilla flavored cognac and some unsalted nuts - she brought her MacBook Air.
We dashed down to the hot tube to soak a little and settled into the elevated hot tub with a view of the lake and I, being a bit thirsty, went to the poolside bar.
There to my surprise the bartender was closing down shop. I asked if we could still get a couple of Mai Tais and he was nice enough to say yes. Evaluating the early evening I put two fives on the bar and asked if he would make us four and charge them to our room. Being the enterprising young man you would expect to find in his position, he said yes.
And so it went, we soaked in the sun and drank. As is our nature, after a bit of play and some showers we called for reservations at the Sage.
The Sage is a very nice steakhouse from top to bottom. Decorated with old Native American lamps and a staff of what seemed like dozens. We settled in with an Absolute Martini, one olive, and glass of St. Michelle’s Riesling for her.
While we waited on the Halibut and steak, we talked about New Orleans, our common attraction to that wonderful city, fishing in the Keys and her brother in Alaska.
Not a bad night – A beautiful woman, excellent food and a warm summer evening at the Lake.
The Bananas Foster was prepared at the table, keeping with the NO theme, and the waiter, after seeing my name on the guest book, brought the Maitre D over to chat with us for awhile. Nice folks.
We played three card poker, roulette and video poker before pocketing our $98 win and heading upstairs.
We both had glasses of room temperature Baileys and she curled up on the couch. I fired up her MacBook but had to pay $10 for wireless service because I forgot to bring my Sprint wireless thingy that plugs into the computer and gives me access anywhere.
And now I am here with her crashed in the bed. It has been a great day and the past has remained quiet and orderly - in the past.