Today is one of those springlike days March sometimes teases us with while keeping winter in the wings. It will be warmish, in the high 40’s or low 50’s. The sun has been a stranger lately but is back today in all its glory. Not a cloud can be seen. A bit of a cool wind strong enough to blow the chimes hanging on a backyard tree comes and goes. I heard the tinkling of the chimes when I went to check on Nala and what she was eating. I’m always suspicious with that dog. This time she was sort of innocent. She was chewing on an orange handle from a garden tool. I don’t know where the rest of the tool went. She ran. I didn’t give chase; instead, I sat down on the backyard stairs for a bit to listen to the chimes, to their sweet sounds.

When I was a kid, I would have begged my mother to let me ride my bike to school on a day like today when I could feel spring in the air. I’d try to get away with wearing a light spring jacket, but my mother usually caught me and nixed that; however, she did relent on the mittens and the hat. There I was on my bike no longer dressed for the depths of winter. I felt a sort of freedom.

After lunch, we’d have recess. That was when the nuns went across the street to the convent and had their lunches. I figured we weren’t supposed to see nuns eat. I always thought that was a bit strange given Sister Hildegarde hid candy bars in her desk drawer and surreptitiously put the candy in her mouth. The chewing always gave her away. Then there was the time she spit nuts on my paper when I brought it to her desk.

My dance card is filled, mostly with uke. I have practice tomorrow and a lesson Wednesday. On Saturday we are in the St. Patrick’s day parade riding a flat bed truck and playing Irish music. It is supposed to be an ugly day, maybe even a rainy day. On Sunday we are playing at the mall.

My dafs have bulbs, and I can see the start of the day lilies, small tips of green poking out of the dirt in the front yard. I like to check on them every morning. The green, growing taller, is a hopeful sign.

Kat is not posting today. I am taking a short break. I didn’t sleep a whole lot last night, and I’m ready for a nap.

The sun was here earlier but has since disappeared. it is 41° and rain is predicted. That sounds like that a perfect day to do nothing, to sleep away the afternoon.

I’ll be back tomorrow, well rested!!

I went to get the paper this morning, but it wasn’t in the front yard. I cursed then I noticed it in my neighbor’s yard. It had been blown by the wind, the mighty wind. All the trees are bending. We have a wind advisory. It is raining.

This morning I flashed back to Saturdays when I was a kid. I found a YouTube channel with black and white science fiction movies from the 50’s. I am watching Invasion of the Saucer Men, little green aliens who arrived in a flash of light in a flying saucer. It has screaming teenage girls, unbelieving police and a moving hand with deadly nails dripping poison. I had Rice Krispies for breakfast, the same breakfast I ate as a kid. The only difference is I am on the couch, not on the floor in front of the TV. I’d never get up again.

When I lived in Ghana, I traveled most school holidays. Usually I went to Accra and from there to Togo, a small country to the west. Before I could leave Ghana, I needed a re-entry permit even though I had a resident’s visa. I also needed a visa from the Togo embassy. On one of my previous visits to the embassy I learned the man giving visas had once lived in Boston. I played on that. Sometimes the man chose not to give visas. He wasn’t in the mood. Volunteers I knew would come out of the office shaking their heads. When I went in, we’d chat. I always mentioned the weather in Boston and what was happening there. I always got a visa. I’d walk out of the office with my passport opened to the visa. The next visit before I left the country was to the government office to get my reentry permit. I always got one there too. The man had pictures on his desk of his family, and on a previous visit I had asked about them. I knew all their names so I’d ask the guy how his family was doing using their names. I always got my re-entry permit.

I wrote an aerogram to one of my friends not long before my end of service. I’m going to quote from that letter.

“Lately I’ve been thinking about going home. Sometimes I worry about being very dissatisfied with what I’ll find. Going into Peace Corps was the best thing I could have done. I’ve learned a lot about Africa, the states and myself. I’ve realized how lucky I have been. This experience has been mind blowing. All of a sudden I’ve been awakened to sounds, colors, sights and feelings that I didn’t know existed before. it is an experience I will never forget because I’ve tried to absorb every part of my life here so memories can be brought back, so my memories will never dim.”