Sunday, February 1, 2026

     Lots of sirens and excitement this morning, fire truck and ambulance. This time it is not me.  I sit in the sun watching the first responders bring out my neighbor on a gurney. Three firemen and two ambulance crew. He looks alive, sitting half way up on the gurney.

     My large back deck is on a hillside.  I see into most of the yards and the alley. In the morning, I pace back and forth. I live in an old neighborhood.  We bought our homes decades ago and we are staying until the end. Working class homes 50 years ago but now beyond the financial reach of middle class families. A short dead end street. Fire trucks struggle getting to us. No sidewalks. We are aging in place.

     Several months ago, it was me on the gurney being placed in the ambulance. Just after surgery, I developed sepsis. I am good now. At some point I won’t be.

     The professor and I watch all 15 episodes of season one of THE PITT before she returns to San Rafael today. It feels like a huge mountain we climbed together.  New York photographer has arrived for a week visit.