Today I wrapped up matters with the accountant and we are now in readiness. Granted there remain a few details to settle before our departure but nothing critical. As is my wont I compliment ourselves on having dove-tailed the many things to address over the past seven months in anticipation of our five-month sojourn on Hilton Head Island. The sensation of accomplishment is reminiscent of how I normally felt when working and preparing to leave for a paltry week’s holiday. I suppose the template is identical. What however amazes me is the fortuity to fulfill all the prerequisites without annoying loose ends.
Certain incorporeal matters have also been concluded satisfactorily. When we returned home last April I was preoccupied with my winter frenzy concerning the amortization of my former social contacts, fearing that I had either done something untoward or that I was missing a key ingredient. My indescribable paranoia has thankfully given way to an accommodation of life’s vagaries. I won’t pretend that I have mastered the dilemma which griped me but I can say that I have let go the ambition. Quite possibly it is no easier to understand others than it is to understand oneself. In any event I have parenthetically made my peace with any disturbing differences which might have existed and resigned myself to letting the tides flow as they may, uninfluenced by any imaginary magnetism I may choose to exert.
The uncertainty of life is but a backhanded reminder of the unexpected pleasures which invariably await. Naturally we clothe the practiced routine of our journey to South Carolina with a degree of confidence and admittedly some banality. This does not however eclipse the opportunities which will unfold. Currently we are fortunate to rely with some assurance upon continued good health; and barring unforeseen tragedy it is reasonable to assume that life will betray its constancy for novelty. Already we have planned a couple of detours from Hilton Head Island and I am confident that they will prove entertaining.
One cannot ignore the winding down of the Big Show. This we adopt as propulsion for our exploits. We have for example examined at length the terms of re-engagement of the cocktail hour and the associated vices of tobacco (both cigars and cigarettes). It may indeed be idle speculation but it is at least comforting to contemplate a vice which one might actually reinvigorate; so many others are already beyond the realm of illumination.
Over the summer we have naturally been touched by the evolution and devolution of life and of those around us. We continue to orbit the circumference of all that there is though we are fully aware that the time will come we know not how soon that we will be absorbed into the black hole. Nothing however is to be achieved by morose fixation other than to promote action of defiance.
Our upcoming odyssey is a metaphor for discovery. I would be reluctant to assert at this late stage of life that nothing is impossible but I believe it is safe to observe that even the most phlegmatic existence affords the promise of at least some adventure. I have heightened my taste buds for living by refining my sensitivities and enlarging the scope of my curiosity. When once one is released from the resolve of success and acquisition the unfiltered contemplation of existence is exponentially augmented and as charitably rewarded. I intend to wallow in the mud of my contrivance, convinced that alteration is unlikely but that adjustment is the unwitting default.