Today is the first day of April, a date one might naturally think heralded Spring. Yet the elongation of daylight hours is not matched by the escalation of outside temperatures.  In fact it continues uncommonly chilly, a feature which has characterized the long winter this year.  But the sky was a cloudless blue throughout the day.  We’re under a high pressure dome at the moment and as a result the air is dry and invigorating.

On a day such as this it is a particular delight for me to drive my automobile. The roads are dry. One can feel the tires gripping the pavement.  The sun glistens on the newly washed sheet metal.  My USB collection of dated songs by Vangelis, The Beatles, Enya and the like sparks endless halcyon memories. I recall flying down Avenue Road in Toronto 50 years ago under the shade of the boulevard trees, never then imagining that one day I would be living the dream.  The indulgent three years I spent in undergraduate university at Glendon Hall studying Philosophy were the first time in my life I allowed myself to disengage from constant commitment to studies.  I paid the price in more ways than one but on reflection it would be a barter with the Devil to change the course of history.  My subsequent endeavours at law school and in the practice of law circumscribed my range of actions for years afterwards. Lately I’ve made up for lost time.  I feel as though I have been lifted from a world of obligation to another of hedonism.

As poignant as my memories are, the present is so munificent that I cannot imagine improvement.  The earlier days were but a preparation, the legitimate price of admission.  I have the advantage of having gained entry to this model state.  Much of our status is a product of reasoned choice though naturally there is also serendipity at play.  No life is without a measure of advantage and disadvantage howsoever it plays out.

I continue to enthral myself by feeding my appetite for my favourite things.  A small indulgence in particular which nonetheless affords considerable return. A symbol of triumph, a personal treat.  Still there is an adjustment to age and retirement.  Medications now replace what once youth afforded.  No matter. Even Zeus granted immortality sparingly and I am no Ganymede or cup-bearer. I’ll content myself with my own fabrications and the waters of my past, a day of memories.