Friday, June 5, 2026

     So I am sitting on the passenger side of my car. Another car has parked too close to my car. I can’t get into the drivers seat of the car. I feel trapped and defeated. A middle aged man comes to the car window in this crowded parking lot. I explain I can’t get into the driver’s seat.  He tries and is just barely able to squeeze in.

    He tells me he is here with his family at the park. His wife just had her kidney removed with robotic surgery at Stanford Hospital. I say, me too, but here Monterey. He pulls out his cellphone and shows me a picture of his wife’s diseased kidney in a surgery tray. I wish I had a picture of my cancerous kidney. I was never given one. We talk about kidneys and surgeries and work and life. His wife is 62 and I am 85.

     He drives the car out to the street for me.  I am able to drive home.  I am so grateful for his unexpected kindness. So very grateful. I am exhausted when I get home.

     I watch the first episode of season 5, CLARKSON’S FARM on prime. I love this show. The silly workers, the beautiful farm land, and the sheep. Later we watch a couple more episodes of MINDFUL MURDERS. A quirky , sometimes funny, German series. I am in the middle of reading ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME 11 a novel by Danish author Solvej Balle. A strange compelling 7 book series.