tranquility - 3

From the notes in my journal, day four of our tranquility trip continues. After lunch we achieved the necessary amount of spiffiness to show ourselves in public and sallied forth to another resort area owned by the same company as this one.

We explored their main office to check out the facilities, especially the large workout room. It was very well furnished with some of the latest equipment – we even tried out some of the same. Instead of sweating to the oldies, this was the sweating of the oldies – but then oldness is relative – in fact, some of my relatives are older than I – but not very many.

We drove back to a large lake on this property and walked out a long boardwalk to a small island. We checked out the local wildlife in evidence along this route – several types of birds and fish. My consciousness soaked up this scenery with it’s customary amazedness and I was grateful to have viewed this particular segment of God’s handiwork.

We then fueled up the van and toured the area for a while before returning to the condo.

We all prepared and consumed ice cream sundaes, the raw materials having been purchased at Publix during an earlier excursion. Then we kicked back and watched another DVD. Afterwards we booted time around some, mostly in a verbal fashion, with much of it falling through the cracks and wasting. We then retired for our night’s repose.

Day five of tranquility began for me when I awoke with a start – a noise somewhere outside the condo – and I just got on up. Had my usual cereal, hot tea and Bible until someone else arose. My friend also entered wakefulness and we moved out to the balcony where we continued our discussion and solving – to our satisfaction – the problems of mankind throughout the known world.

A bit later, my favorite wife arose and prepared us a breakfast of grits, eggs and biscuits, the latter consumed with the former or with the previously purchased fruit preserves – or both - to finish up the meal.

We got ready and went out to indulge in an uncared for pursuit of mine, shopping, the root of this word being of the four-letter variety, rising almost to the cursing category – not me - the word. We took the ladies to an outlet mall – another four-letter word – and turned them loose, having faith that if they really loved us they would return – sooner or later.

My friend and I walked around the parking lot a while, relating past memories, because it would be very difficult to discuss future memories. We examined the landscape entities – trees, bushes and flowers, and viewed with interest the somewhat comical search for food in which a bird was involved – I took it to be a cattle egret. Then we just sat in the van and spoke of great and wonderful things, some again from the past and some proposals for the future, not caring to speak of the present.

From there we traveled to a Corningware outlet, where all went in and made various purchases for various reasons. On the way home we stopped by a Publix for the express purpose of buying more items for comfort consumption. Back at the condo, we finished prep for supper - the roast was already done, having cooked all night. Rice was prepared, squash was sautéed and broccoli was steamed, whereupon we fell upon this feast and devoured it with great gusto.

We had dessert and cleaned up the kitchen, later watching another DVD. We finally wandered off to bed, tired from dealing with the four-letter word stuff of our day – these being shop and mall. The only sad note was in the realization that our trip was more than half over. To be cont’d ec