A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

Today my son Thomas arrived for an eight-day visit with us here on our little hilltop. We have both been very excited about this day for a long time and kept our fingers crossed that the gods of aviation would not throw any snafus in his way West. He was scheduled to arrive at 11:13am, which meant that he would be coming out the door more or less at 11:30. I took the trouble to look up his flight on Flight Tacker and saw that he had actually taken off five minutes early and that the winds were in his favor and he was scheduled to arrive at 10:32. What we expected would be an earlier than necessary departure from home at 10:30 got pushed up to 10:00, figuring something was bound to slow things down a few minutes at least while we might get lucky and have a quick trip to the airport. As we approached downtown at 10:20, the phone rang and it was Thomas. I immediately assumed he was calling made from the plane as it was landing. At worst it would be a call made from the plane on the tarmac. But instead he said he was stepping out of the terminal into the San Diego sunshine. We told him we were 10 minutes away and I put both hands on the wheel to gain optimal driving capability. When we got there our rushed arrival was rewarded with a big hug.

Our plan was to go to our favorite San Diego restaurant and the place where we always used to go when we landed from New York, C-Level. The only problem was that we had never gotten there at 10:45 for lunch. When we arrived we learned that they did not open as I had expected at 11:00, but only opened at 11:30. I can’t honestly remember ever waiting so long for a lunch restaurant. We were literally the first to arrive in the holding area and fortunately they had a few benches. And then, the rest of the early dining clientele of C-Level started arriving. We had tried to get a reservation, but were told that they had none left and that all we could do was take our chances as walk-ins (first come, first served). The average age of the early crowd at C-Level seems to be about eighty and here’s the thing, eighty-year-olds are not particularly good at patiently waiting their turn when it comes to lines. At least four groups walked right around us to stand closer to the door to position themselves for preemptive access. I had a decision to make.

I could be accommodative and just say that old people deserve to be treated with preference, and then I thought about wanting to enjoy my first lunch with my son in fifteen months. I also started imagining these older folks as all being Republicans who feel they have a right to cut in line (yes, that is what I think of Republicans). So I decided to test the waters since there was still more than 20 minutes to the opening hour. I walked right up to the door and knocked on it, signaling the hostess as to whether I could be let in to use the rest room. What I was really doing was testing to see if any of these people would comment or try to deny me moving to the front of the line around them. This is what people do when they are killing time in a lunch line, right? They fall prey to their lesser angels. So, while the hostess went to check with the Chief Host about their early bathroom policy, I turned and smiled at these octogenarian line interlopers. I was looking for a glare or the hint of a passed and whispered comment and I got nothing. I suspect they were in awe of my chutzpah or they were all bluff in the face of a younger, bigger guy with an attitude. The hostess came back from the side door and said I could go with her to use the bathroom, but I told her it wasn’t that urgent. That was the clincher and I suspect it was not missed by the interlopers that I was not so desperate as I had originally implied.

I slowly walked back to my bench where Kim and Thomas were sitting, weaving my way through the growing crowd. I was then genuinely concerned about getting boxed out of a table if I did not stand my ground. At five minutes before opening, I calmly walked right back up to the door and peered in as though I was going to ask the hostess again about the bathroom, but then I just turned around and smiled…and stood there. I got no pushback whatsoever. I was prepared to ask anyone who questioned me as to whether they had missed seeing someone of my size waiting patiently when they arrived, but no one said anything. I was so well-prepared that I was a bit disappointed, but mostly relieved, since there was a chance I would have gone polite instead of militant.

When the door opened, I went right to the front holding up three fingers and a waiter immediately started showing me to the terrace overlooking the Bay. I waved back to Kim to join me and stayed my course. I picked a table overlooking the Bay and watched as all the interlopers gradually filed past me without so much as a dirty look. I want to think that they knew I was in the right, but I suspect I was the topic of some conversation at some of their lunches and that it was mostly about how intimidating I had chosen to be. Who knows, maybe they were busy calling ME a Republican or some such nastiness.

We enjoyed our lunch immensely and I felt I had done my part to keep the world safe for us liberals. We talked about important life issues and unimportant trivial issues. It was great. From there it was a quick ride home and an hour spent showing Thomas all of the projects we had undertaken since he was last here eighteen months ago. It was wonderful for me to have someone who was genuinely interested in the property and wanted to hear all about what I’ve been up to for the last year. We literally walked the property looking at all the improvements. I was in heaven and to think I got the double benefit of spending time with my son and explaining all my projects.

We sat in the renovated garage, we sat on the new deck, we sat down on the games area and flayed Bocci, Horseshoes, Cornhole, Disk Golf and Mini-Golf. Thomas didn’t even complain about the extreme slope of the putting surface (the result of not wanting to spend the money to properly level it). We then went down the back slope and watered all the new plants and Thomas got to climb around and get a closer look at the Bison Boulder sculpture. It was late afternoon and time for a hot tub. I rarely get anyone to go in with me and Thomas and I spent an hour in there just talking about life. It too was great.

Kim was making Thomas’ favorite meal, Island Pork. All that was left of the evening was to pick a movie or two to share our evening. One of the films we watched was Jeff Daniels in The Answer Man. It’s about a famous and reclusive Philadelphia author who wrote the definitive religious book, Me and God, and learns from a chiropractor who helps him and dates him, how to be more humane and caring about people. The man owns over 10% of “the God market” and has all the money he needs, but lacks a life that he wants. It is a stark reminder to us viewers that everything we need to be happy is within arm’s reach and is almost all spiritual in nature. This has been one helluva day in the life of this guy who is trying hard to ease himself into retirement and learn about being a better person.