60

Took the day off work as today would have been Sonja's 60th birthday if she was still with us. She has been gone 3 1/2 years now. Everybody misses her. None more so than I. I still talk to her when I am in my home alone. Tell her I still love her and miss her and shit.

After I had finished talking to Sonja I walked to my favoured cafe for breakfast. The cafe is a warm place. The proprietor, her name is Vera, a warm individual. When I walked in the door she said with a smile, "Good morning Beer," and motioned me towards a sparkling clean table which soon had a hot cup of black speed placed on it.

Been a while since I had been in so we caught up on each other's lives. You know - on her part mostly her old man, her grandkids and real estate. Real estate is being talked up quite a bit again as we await a decrease in borrowing costs. For my part I told her about Jimi, my ailing mom and her similarly ailing brother. I also told her I may have a girlfriend. I certainly hope so because if I do I am the luckiest man alive. Such are her many positive attributes. "We are going out on Saturday night," I told Vera with a sparkle in my eyes. "Maybe she'll propose to me!"

Vera laughed. She knows the limits of my imagination, my optimism and my affectionateness are boundless, if not always sensible.

Dropped my car off for its annual service next and walked home to await the call to retrieve it. The sun was now slowly warming the day. I took note of the beauty of my neighbourhood. The neighbourhood I have been living in for decades.

Life is good. I am going to cook a steak for dinner tonight, have a couple glasses of wine and try not to think about my country being overtaken by forest fires yet again this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7POqDsVh-7o