A beep a bit back announced rain would begin in 23 minutes. The timing was just a little off. The rain started in fifteen minutes. I could hear the pings of the drops hitting the metal barrel on the deck. The rain was heavy, but now I can hear individual drops. The forecast is for a day of rain in the high 70’s. I just crossed washing the kitchen floor off my to-do list.

When I was a kid, a rainy Saturday was devastating. My bike stayed in the cellar and I stayed home. I’d head to my bedroom, a quiet place, with my book. I always had a book. I’d lie cozy in bed and read by the bed-lamp hanging off the headboard. Sometimes the sound of the rain lulled me to sleep.

When I was in the sixth grade, I made my first promise to myself. I would travel and see the world. I had no doubt about it. I even named it after a classmate who used to go to England to visit family, the Barrett disease.

Canada was my first foreign country. I was sixteen when we went to Niagara Falls. We stayed in a motel for the first time. We ate in restaurants or had picnics as we traveled. We took the walk under the falls. All of us were dressed in yellow slickers. We went to the wax museum. We saw the falls at night lit up with beautiful colored lights. We stayed in a huge cottage on the shore of Lake Ontario. I walked across the street and saw tiny waves lapping the shore. I remember the Eisenhower lock on the St. Lawrence River. That whole trip was amazing, and I haven’t ever forgotten it. It was the first fulfillment of my promise.

My second country was a huge leap from Canada. It was Ghana. I still remember the excitement when I was boarding the bus to leave staging in Philadelphia for the airport. I remember we flew over the cape. I took a picture, a sort of good-bye picture. I remember landing in Madrid for a new crew and refueling. I remember landing in Accra, but I don’t remember much of the bus trip to Winneba. I fell sleep. I remember my first morning in Ghana with such clarity. I stood outside my room on the second floor of the dorm and looked at the palm trees, the greenery, the roofs of houses and the hills far beyond. I was mesmerized by the unfamiliar. I had fulfilled my promise in the most spectacular place.

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Sometime during the night it rained, not much rain but I’ll take any rain. It left the morning dark and still damp. It is in the high 70’s, but later it will be around 80°. Everything is still in the thick air.

My friends Bill and Peg and I served together in Ghana. They lived quite a distance away from me. I used to visit them on my way back from Accra to Bolga. They knew when I was coming. We’d arrange those visits. All our correspondence was by letter. That amazes us.

One of my favorite meals was eaten in Jamaica. It was red snapper and plantain. Another meal on my list of favorites was at a Chinese restaurant in London. There was something about those ribs. When I’d return from a trip, my father and mother would pick me up at Logan Airport. From there we always stopped at Santarpio’s in East Boston. I used to get the combination plate. It had steak, sausage and chicken with hot peppers on the side. In Ghana, feed me kelewele and jollof rice for every meal, and I’d be happy. I had a wonderful meal in Helsinki. I don’t know what it was. I just pointed.

When I retired, I had a few plans. I would sleep in as I had had to get up at 5:15 each workday. I have managed to do that well. I would travel. I went to Morocco. That was an amazing trip and the first outside the country I took alone. I rented a car and driver and went into the mountains. I rode a caleche, a horse drawn carriage, around Marrakech. I had a cooking lesson. With guide book in hand, I walked all around Marrakech stopping at cafes for coffee and gawking. I went to Ghana three times. I haven’t traveled in a while, but I am quite content.

Nala is so bold she just took a crumpled paper towel off the table right in front of me. She even gave me a defiant look as she grabbed it before running down the hall and out the dog door.

Today I have a uke concert and tonight I have a play. Our concert music is love songs from the 60’s, my heyday. Tonight is Beautiful-The Carole King Musical. It is my last busy day until Monday.