There were rumours this morning as we departed the apartment to drive to the golf club for breakfast that it was snowing. I had earlier seen suggestions of same on the weather App but was undeterred. Nothing had yet materialized. I was set upon wearing my exceedingly comfortable Dillard’s Roundtree & Yorke vanilla Bermuda shorts with the expandable waistline. Snow showers in April be damn! They quickly pass. Besides the temperature was predicted to rise above freezing; and the late morning and afternoon forecast was for high winds (northerly of course) and sunshine. In any event we were going to the golf club. Our housekeeper was due to arrive within the hour. We prefer (as no doubt does she) that we’re out of the way.

When we arrived at the golf club we saw in the parking lot that there were only 3 other vehicles. One of them obviously belonged to the golf club Pro because its license plate had his initials and the word GOLF inscribed.  Upon entering the clubhouse I immediately caught whiff of Chef Wendy’s signature bacon. My order was decided! Bacon, sausage, fried eggs and pancakes with real maple syrup. Heaven!  As I told Chef Wendy upon leaving, I’ve decided to change the writing on my tombstone to read, “He loved bacon. AND Wendy!”

We were the only people in the dining room. Our lyrical server informed us the golf course was closed for the day and that the kitchen and clubhouse would close at 1:00 pm.  Already though, she added, catering plans were under way for upcoming social events tomorrow and the following day. The forecast is for rising temperatures to 23°C on Sunday.

When we left the clubhouse, the sky had already begun to clear.  It turned out to be a metaphorical shift because lately I have been remorseful about losing touch with old friends.  Earlier while lingering over coffee at the breakfast table in the clubhouse I had received an email from an ancient boarding school colleague now living in Florida with his lovely wife.  He summarily reported that his youngest daughter had blessed him and his wife with a granddaughter about whom they are both undeniably proud. It has been so long since we communicated with one another that my friend asked whether I were retired (an event which transpired ten years ago). Nonetheless the email was especially propitious because lately I’ve felt the threads of communication with others slipping away. In some instances the alliances are just plain ancient, going back to teenage years. In other instances tragedy or ill-health has affected people’s moorings; and, more often than not, one simply loses track. Nor has it helped that we’ve been out of the country for prolonged periods over the past decade. Yet friendships survive in spite of ignorance and the indistinguishable elapse of time.

Though I was full of anticipation today concerning the arrival of an amended sized boating hat from Montréal, it turns out the second model 7¼” diameter is too small while the first 7½” diameter was too big.  You guessed it, the correct size would have been exactly in the middle (which just happened to have been out of stock in any event).  It has however been an education in hat sizing because all my other hats are measured merely as L or XL.  The investigation of the matter has also instructed me that the difference of circumference is of necessity far greater than the measurement of diameter. In the example I have given the circumference is 58 cm – 60 cm and once again the exact size is right in the middle.  Anyway…both hats will be given away (the first is already gone). I view this merely as an on-line disappointment which is no fault of either the retailer or me; it just would have been better to have done this in person rather than over the extended period required for shipping. But I have also learned that buying a product which is completely agreeable is never assured whatever the experience.  More often than not it is merely a matter of luck as in everything else. I have telephoned the retailer Henri Henri in Montréal and spoken with a clerk who advises that the father of the owner is the sole importer of the hat for all of Canada.  The clerk confirmed he would take my contact information then contact me when the precise size was again available. I confess that the devotion to precision has outweighed the peril of indecision.  There must be a lesson somewhere in this mundane triumph!