The weather report from my Hey Google says it is sunny. It is lighter than the last few days but definitely not yet sunny, but I have hope. I think there is a glimmer. The temperature is 64°. The house is warmer than it has been. I have a cricket. I heard it this morning.

When I was a kid, Sunday was a lost day. It was church in the morning, dinner in the afternoon and occasional trips to my grandparents. It was also early to bed with my mother reminding us we had school in the morning, as if we needed reminding.

We always called our school St. Pat’s. The other kids went to the East School, but we didn’t call it by name. It was just public school which wasn’t meant to be derogatory. It was just a distinction. The other distinction is they wore regular clothes. We wore school uniforms except on scout days when we wore scout uniforms. At first there were lots of brownies, but as we got older, there were fewer Girl Scouts. I stayed.

Considering I never had a plane ride until I was in college, I have had the neatest experiences. That first plane was a small prop from Hyannis to Boston. In Ghana, I also rode a prop between Accra and Tamale. I took a helicopter between LaGuardia and Kennedy. That it rose straight up was the neatest part.

My sister and I took a balloon ride. We arrived at dawn to watch the balloon be inflated. It was in the fall, the last possible weekend for flight. I remember the sound of the gas as we floated. We were one of four balloons in the air. We could see people wearing robes and housecoats coming out of their houses to see us. We flew over a pig farm and scared the pigs. I took pictures of the balloon reflected in a pond. I could see the chase car following us. Though we practiced for a tipped basket landing, we landed perfectly then drank champagne to celebrate. On the bottom of the glass was a pin, a replica of the balloon.

On one beautiful late summer day, my friend and I took turns in a glider. I remember being pulled into the air by the small plane connected to us with a rope. When we were in the air, the pilot let me disengage the rope. We glided over the ocean. It was so quiet I could only hear the wind. We turned soundlessly. We landed on the grass. The wings tipped.

I have taken plane rides to the most remarkable places. I flew from Argentina to Uruguay over the water in a small plane. I flew over the Andes. They seemed so close I could almost touch them. I flew from Niamey to Ougadougou and arrived an hour before I left. Plane rides have taken me to places I had dreamed of when I was a kid. I am still amazed.

Rain, Rain, Go Away! Today is another ugly day. It will rain off and on all day and stay in the low 60’s. Right now the rain is on again. Our concert was cancelled. The event wasn’t, but we can’t play in the rain so I get to stay home cozy, dry and warm.

It is science fiction Saturday. I am now being entertained by The Atomic Submarine with a great opening of wonderfully eerie music. I like to watch the list of lesser actors as sometimes I recognize a few of the names. Here I didn’t. The special effects aren’t great, but this was released in 1959. It seems one of the atomic subs has been destroyed and other ships have gone missing from their polar route. The Tigershark, a high tech sub, will hunt the cause of these disasters. I haven’t seen the whole movie, but the villain is extraterrestrial. There is a voiceover to fill the plot gaps.

I feel lazy today. I suspect it will be a sloth day. My to-do list is no shorter than it has been, but I have no guilt about it. Chores will get done sometime.

I like naps. I even used to take them in the heat of the afternoon in Ghana. For two hours, during siesta time, the stores and even the post office closed. My students rested in their dorms.

Traveling in Ghana was an adventure. During school holidays, I’d take the bus to Accra which was 364 miles away. A car ride only took 6 1/2 hours, but I was seldom lucky enough to find a ride. Sometimes I’d take the state bus which had a schedule and took about the same amount of time as a car to get to Accra. Other times I’d take a bus from the lorry park, the cheapest ride, where I’d have to wait until the bus filled before it left. People were even crammed in the aisle. The bus made frequent stops adding to the travel time. I’d buy food offered through the window usually by women. It took hours to get to Accra. The best and quickest way was by plane from Tamale which took about an hour and was sort of expensive. I didn’t take that too often.

In Ghana, I learned be a patient traveler.