Okay, I’ve been up since before 5 o’clock. I think that’s about when the cough medicine stopped working, and once I start coughing, going back to sleep is out of the question. Another mouse found its way into my trap last night so it and I will take a ride later as I have to go out anyway. For some strange reason the cats want to eat every day, and I gave them their last can this morning. I should have trained them better. My trunk is filled with trash, but I hesitate going to the dump as even on pleasant days it’s cold. I’m not telling Gracie.

Stuck in the house is boring. Ordinarily I’d never mind staying home but being forced to stay inside changes the whole perspective. Chosen sloth days are gifts. Sick sloth days are not. I am stooping to watch the Military Channel about Okinawa as nothing else is on. The news at 5:30 is the same as the news at 5 o’clock which will then be repeated at 6.

I watched The Brink’s Job a few weeks back because my town has a scene. The film was made in 1978, and they chose Stoneham Square because it looked just like a town from the 1950’s, as if time had stood still. The police box was in the middle of the square, and Finnegan’s Men’s Store was still there. The thieves went inside the store and bought themselves some new duds. In those days up-town was a vibrant place filled with stores. In time, the stores closed. The police box got hit by a car and was destroyed. A replica of it was build but was erected off the road, more as a memorial than anything. Finnegan’s is a liquor store or was the last time I noticed.

Up-town has become a destination again. Part of it is revitalized. The movie theater is now live theater, an Indian restaurant graces the spot where the Children’s Corner used to stand, and Felicia’s, a great restaurant, is where the fish market stood. The deli is still on the corner and still makes great subs. I like to drive through the square when I visit my sister then I take the same route I used to when I was a kid: pass the fire station, the town hall, the church, my elementary school then all the way to my old house. I notice what has changed and remember what used to be. It’s nostalgic, not sad.