Author: mikemeyer949

Tuesday

5:31am Tuesday morning. I ate lunch early then went home to rest. Driving back I turned the radio on. Noisy trucks filled the busy roads. The receptionist handed me three messages when I walked in. I sat down down at my desk and spent an hour making calls. Then I worked on a report the rest of the afternoon. It was almost six when I left the office and returned home.

Monday

7:59pm Monday night. After finishing dinner I cleaned the dishes and scrubbed the kitchen. I called my daughter to find out how school went. “Hi dad, bye dad.” Were her only words. My wife complained about money. We discussed plans for the weekend. I hung up then washed my face and brushed my teeth before crawling into bed. I read an interesting article on blues music. Then turned out the light to fall asleep.

Monday morning

5:42am Monday morning. When I woke up I felt refreshed. My rest had been good. Then I remembered it was Monday and felt dejected. I rolled over, turned on the light and laid still on my back for a moment. I didn’t feel the desire to get up. I thought about Saturday mornings, long car trips and peaceful walks. Anything to distract me from the looming day. For as long as I could remember I thought it my mission to avoid mornings like these. But I have come to realize all I can really hope is to endure.

Sunday night

7:47pm Sunday night. The heat emanating from the sidewalk drifted up my legs and sapped my energy. Insects buzzed as the sun relentlessly beat down. Up ahead I noticed a thin, dark strip of shade cast by the southeast corner of a tall building. I changed my course as two neighbors approached me. They were talking excitedly about what I gathered to be events from a previous get together. It must have been sordid. The woman was waving her arms as she spoke. At one point she proclaimed, “No one should put up with that shit.” The man had his head down and mumbled a response I did not hear. Their dog pulled at the lead, greedily sniffing bushes until the woman tugged it back to the path. They nodded hello as they passed. I absently asked, “How are you doing?” But got no reply.

Saturday

6:25am Arizona. On Saturday I woke up late and took a walk through the neighborhood. Dark thin clouds with sun lit edges crowded the eastern sky. Heat from the sidewalk made the air feel wet and thick. I slowed my pace to keep cool. When I returned I made toast and eggs for breakfast then went downstairs to check the post box. There was a law enforcement notice from Washington state addressed to a name I did not recognize. I thought about opening it but decided not to. I put it on a pile of unopened mail and went to take a shower.

Writing exercise

5:54am (just a writing exercise) As I drove to work it struck me I hadn’t called Peter last night. I sort of forgotten until I was nearly to the office but as I pulled up I remembered. He couldn’t have been too happy waiting for me to reply but what could I do? In the first place there wasn’t much to report and second he wasn’t available until late in the evening.