The morning is fall at its finest. The sun is shining though the leaves still hanging on the trees in the backyard. The temperature is in the high 40’s. A slight breeze comes and goes. My deck and front yard are covered in brown, mostly oak leaves. The dogs bring pieces of the leaves in on their paws. I keep a broom close at hand.

When I was a kid, I watched The Creature from the Black Lagoon. He walked upright, looked like an amphibian, had webbed hands and quite the ugly face with eyes which never moved. Many years later I found out he was a piscine and amphibian humanoid, a creature of myth and legend. He scared the boat load of scientists and crew, even killed a couple after they attacked them. There was, of course, a woman who screamed and screamed and was captured by the Creature. I never questioned the effects. He looked like a gill man. He could breathe underwater. My nephew, who is now forty, saw the movie when he was a kid. He laughed most of the way through. He thought the movie was silly. His comments cut me to the quick. He said you can see the scuba tank the creature is wearing under his fake skin. I never noticed.

Phones were once a wonder. The first telephone I remember when I was young was the phone you picked up to get to the operator who connected your call. Next we got a rotary phone with a party line. The rotary phone made a clicking noise after you entered each number. I loved that sound. I used to listen to Mrs. McGafffigan, but she knew when we on the line and used to yell at us to hang up the phone. We did get our own line. Our first phones were black. All phones were black.

I used to be amazed at all the changes and historical events my grandmother lived through. She was born in 1898. I suspect my niece and nephews think about me in the same way. When I have to indicate my year of birth by scrolling through years, it takes a while to get to 1947. I have seen the plots of the science fiction books I read as a kid become reality, but I am still amazed by the world. I hold close my sense of wonder. I still don’t notice the scuba tank.

Today is another ugly day, dark, chilly and cloudy. I have nowhere I have to be. It is a stay at home day. It is a wash the kitchen floor day.

My house is dark. The TV is on pause. Everything is quiet except for the occasional blast of heat. The dogs have finally settled down on the couch. I’m ready for another cup of coffee.

The dogs are loving his weather. On sunny days, Nala lies on the grass soaking in the warmth. Henry wanders. On the chilly days they run all over the yard. Nala comes inside panting. Henry comes inside hoping for a snack. They both take a morning nap. They have tough lives.

Yesterday I watched a video about Ghana. It was filmed at Yeji, on the shore of the Volta Lake. A ferry leaves from Yeji, crosses the lake and takes the road again on the other side, in the Northern Region on the road to Tamale. I rode that ferry many times. Sometimes I had to wait for it to come from the other side. I bought food and water while I waited. I bought plantain chips cooked over a charcoal fire. The grills were large white enamel bowls filled with burning charcoal. A metal grid was across the top. The aunties also sold dried fish which never tempted me. I think it was the eyes looking at me. The water was sold in green beer bottles. I used to hold the bottle up to the sun to see how many floaties there were. I bought the bottle with the fewest floaties.

I know how lucky I have been to see a good part of the world. Even now, so many years later, I am amazed that I actually lived in Africa. When I was a kid, the only glimpse of it I had were pictures in my geography book. Usually there were giraffes. I never saw giraffes. I remember on the way to Ghana we flew over the Sahara. Later I would ride a camel in the desert, but on the plane I was thrilled to see it. I will never forget stepping off the plane. I felt the blast of heat and saw palm trees. I was in Africa.