There is among those who esteem themselves acquainted with the rudiments of good health a conviction that each of us requires precisely eight hours of sleep daily and no more. Last evening after having exhausted the humour of “Frasier” re-runs on Netflix we succumbed to the allure of the straw bed around ten o’clock. Whether because of clean living or the natural result of exercise and a fulfilling meal (perhaps punctuated by the soporific effect of Tylenol Arthritis 650 mg pills and Dosecann THC Oil Spray) I thereafter spent a quiescent eight hours. If I recall correctly it was magically 6:20 am this morning when I awoke from my dreamless slumber. Through the drawn draperies I discerned an uncommonly blue sky. For whatever reason (I did not open the patio door) the balmy weather was as evident. The combination of the hour, the sky and the suggestive weather inspired me to get a move on!
“Frasier is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons, premiering on September 16, 1993, and concluding on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub Street Productions) in association with Grammnet (2004) and Paramount Network Television. The series was created as a spin-off of Cheers, continuing the story of psychiatrist Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle and started building a new life as a radio advice show host while reconnecting with his father and brother and making new friends. Frasierstarred Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, and John Mahoney. The show was critically acclaimed, with the show itself and the cast winning thirty-seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a record at the time for a scripted series. It also won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for five consecutive years. As of 2019, the possibility of a revival was being discussed, to air in 2020.“
In the moments which followed this coarse familiarity with daylight and all that it entails we ruminated upon the agenda of our day. I instantly recalled with compelling purpose that it was “Refresh Day“. This is code for clean the bed clothes. This alone would have succeeded to propel me from the billowing feathers of the duvet. Competing with this Protestant imperative was my routine of breakfast and a morning cycle on my Townie Electra. It was however too early for me to have as yet developed a noticeable appetite following last evening’s generous raw veggie salad, tea biscuit and plain butter tart. Conveniently the dawn awakening beaconed a bike ride. The third element of my normal morning – namely, an invigorating shower – could easily be overlooked under the circumstances. Indeed upon digestion it occurred that we could go for a bike ride, afterwards take a shower and then dress for breakfast at the golf club. The ultimate advantage of this unwitting agenda was a trip to the grocery store. I also knew in my heart that a pleasant motor vehicle ride thereafter awaited. My day was thus planned with unparalleled achievement!
On the bike trail I was pleased to note from an indifferent glimpse of my Apple watch that at 7:20 am we had already completed more than half our regular 10 km jaunt. By 8:20 am we were seated on the patio at the golf club overlooking the first tee.
At the golf club we chatted with a former client and his (new) wife sitting at a table adjacent ours on the patio. My erstwhile client is spirited enough to have permitted some comic repartee in addition to the communication of on-going family progress. I welcomed this latter intelligence because my client’s son had once challenged the strictly fiduciary relationship of a trust agreement between him and his father. Apparently the detail was now a mere nicety on the heels of subsequent capital arrangements between the two. I still consider the son’s behaviour atrocious but I have at least the comfort of knowing the initial assault is well beyond contest.
The subsequent outing to Mitchell’s grocery store in Carleton Place proved remarkably uplifting. This is not something I would normally expect to observe. By the judicious and unhurried choice to wander aimlessly from aisle to aisle I unearthed two products which might have escaped my attention – Lavender bath soap and moist towelette lens cleaners. I realize such items are not unique but the models discovered bordered on the exceptional. Before you utter a restrained guffaw let me remind you that retail activity is not frequent in old age. Indeed I have adjusted myself to the frozen reality that materialism is as much a product of youth as sexuality. Eventually the accommodation of philosophic truths constitutes one’s sole ambition.