Sitting at my desk, sipping an espresso, munching a sliced apple and staring at the sublime picture of rustic beauty stretching in precise rows of yellow cornstalks to the horizon, I am in awe of the fortuity. I have listened to jazz all day, including memorable renditions of classics on SiriusXM’s Real Jazz as well as the romantic interpretations of Beegie Adair from the American Songbook.

My smugness derives in no small part from my Olympic success early this morning when – in the uncommonly cool but brilliant weather – I ventured to tricycle about the neighbourhood, having stopped to chat with a recently widowed woman whose husband was a former manager of the Bank of Montreal. She said she had lately downsized from a large home on acreage to a smaller townhome. However the greater adjustment was learning to live alone.  I sympathized upon hearing the sobering observation. As withdrawn as I may be, I am never fully satisfied except in the company of others.  I grew up within a herd – from boarding school to university residence to a law school fraternity to don of a university residence. It was a stratagem unwittingly adopted in my career, specifically a social club, a breakfast club, a business association, a fraternity, a municipal committee, a provincial board, a corporate board, a professional association, a church warden, a secondary school lecturer and a library trustee.

These rambling thoughts are now swirling within the New Age music of Vangelis – Voices (“Ask the Mountains”). It is no accident that I am reflecting once again upon my past. It is not entirely because I haven’t anything to consider in the future. Rather it is more a way of expressing my gratitude for what has already transpired and where I find myself today. My 30-year relationship with Saint Denis is at the top of my list. The unforeseen affair has been an unqualified enrichment. I vividly recall the adventures of the last three decades, the best in my assessment.

Taking a restful time to wallow in the serenity of living is itself a sumptuousness.  There are so many opportunities for disturbance and annoyance to interrupt the cathartic flow. Uniting the weather, the day of the week, one’s agenda and one’s health with everything thing else in the usual commotion of living is an achievement. I’m having one of those synchronistic days.

We’re not completely without challenges – the ‘fridge is “acting up” once again and I haven’t heard from a correspondent as quickly as I might prefer – but otherwise this is one of those magical days when you don’t spill the coffee on yourself and breakfast was superb!