Today looks like yesterday, but the bright sun is deceiving. We are in the 30’s where we’ll stay all day. I have no plans for today. I’m thinking a sloth day. I do those sorts of days quite well.

When I was kid, Saturday was my favorite day of the week. The morning was leisurely. I’d wake up sort of early, grab my Rice Krispies, add milk and sugar then plop myself on the rug in front of the TV to watch cartoons, series like Tin Tin Tin and sometimes serials. The serial I remember the best is Gene Autry’s Phantom Empire. I can still picture scenes from it, especially the long elevator which took them deep underground. After a while, it was time for me to hit the road. In warm weather I’d grab my bike and take off for parts unknown. In cooler or snowy weather I’d walk. Sometimes I went ice skating either at Recreation Park, the MDC rink or the swamp. I remember how weird my feet felt in shoes after skating for a while. I wasn’t the best skater, but I did manage backwards. Once the matinees started at the movie theater up town, I’d spend my afternoons there. A cartoon was always first, before the main feature. I remember seeing The Wizard of Oz. I remember getting pelted by candy and watching Al, the owner, running up and down the aisles shining his light trying to find the miscreants. I also remember the very back rows were filled with teen couples making out as we used to call it.

In Ghana, I often shopped in town on Saturdays at the stores and kiosks and in the market if it was market day. The kiosks were three sided with open fronts filled with shelves. I bought my margarine and condensed milk at a kiosk. In the market I bought my fruits, vegetables and meat, live chickens and beef at the butcher shop, the word shop being loosely used here. I bought yams, bananas, pineapple, oranges, pawpaw, mangos, tomatoes and onions. I’d carry my purchases home in my shepherd’s bag, a woven bag which stretched to fit everything and got very heavy. Before I got my moto, I’d walk to and from town. Usually, though, a car would stop and offer me a ride home to my school. I was the only white woman my first year so they all knew who I was.

The dogs are napping on the couch. They lead an easy life. Jack too is napping. It is just that sort of a day.