Until very recently I hadn’t taken the time to cultivate an acquaintance with the back yard of our condominium apartment building. The allure of the stone walls, deck chairs and the cobbled walkway throughout the garden amidst the shrubbery and foliage at last drew me to subtle inquiry. Months of having being housebound by Covid-19 and suffering the blunt reality of perpetual inactivity meant that even a languishing recline in the late morning sunshine without interruption or conversation was sufficient and meaningful diversion from the hapless routine. This characteristically infrequent and solitary resource changed today when Marny telephoned and proposed that we rally for coffee on the patio. I naturally accepted with glee! The indisputable value of society is now considered the nec plus ultra! And well it should. Society is an envelope of untold size and content – that is, depending upon the constituents!
The intelligence arising from this casual reunion was not entirely unforeseen but certainly unpredicted. Marny is notoriously a sharp dresser. Her accoutrements never go unnoticed. Marny disclosed to me that she shops on-line and – wait for it, here’s the cracker – she prefers Hudson’s Bay Company. Unfortunately time doesn’t permit me to expand upon that particular kernel of counsel because it involves a creditable background of materialism generally and more than a passing familiarity with the full significance of cogito ergo sum. For example, one thing it highlights is the closeness of economy and choice. Many people mistakenly equate quality solely with cost. While I am not saying Hudson’s Bay Company has less than high quality – in fact, just the opposite – I am confirming the well-deserved applause of the corporation for meeting the valued standards of its clients for a tolerable price.
After rambling for about for an hour – and chatting à côté with Glenda about unrelated matters – we summarily concluded our late morning congregation and welcomed a return performance sometime soon. Thereafter I immediately stole into the apartment to collect a few things before descending to the garage where I mounted my trusty Townie Electra and headed to the erstwhile railway right-of-way for a relieving ride. The air was magical! A soothing wind funnelled from the south beneath the corridor of foliage. Overnight it is expected the temperature will plummet over 25°F but the air will remain clear and sunny. This blissful weather is very likely one of the last truly summer days we shall enjoy.
To punctuate the already entertaining serendipity of the day, when cycling on the trail I encountered a young gentleman from Germany. In addition to approaching 7′ tall he is the son-in-law of Nathan from Almonte. Though the young man gave every appearance of gentility he didn’t however overtake my attention until he told me that he met his wife in Shanghai. This struck me as no small observation. Specifically, he reported, she was on the opposite side of a subway platform. It requires neither an inductive leap nor a roaring imagination to presume there’s more to that tale of romance!