Saturday, September 27, 2025 

     My community bank is different now, new owners, new employees, new gardeners. The large pots of geraniums by the front door, are gone. No security guards to greet me. I have to identify myself by my birth date to the new teller. But still, they cash my check. This has been my bank for decades.

     I park in the empty parking lot at San Carlos Beach. A pale haze fills the air.  Maybe smog or fire, or maybe just autumn saying hello. The ocean is calm, light blue, some ripples on the surface. A few fishing boats, kayaks, sea lions in the water. On the muggy day, the young men show off colorful tattoos on their arms and shoulders as they walk around the park. I stay in the car with the windows down listening to a podcast on my phone.

     I am engrossed in the two powerful books I am reading, the one about chronic pain and the other a memoir of a Palestinian American woman. The other books just have to wait their turn.

     My roommate cooks diner and we settle in front of the TV to watch the latest episode of SLOW HORSES. but first we catch up on the news and humor with Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. Great Friday night.