"...what a day for a daydreamin' boy..." John B. Sebastian

 I always loved the Lovin' Spoonful, though I thought the name was kinda dumb. Sebastian also did a live album that diverted out a little bit into some Jimmy Rogers and other stuff, It was the kind of listening this daydreamin' boy could crank up without getting the parents in a lather about how music had gone to hell in the 1960s. Fucking hippies.

We've been on this adventure for exactly a month now and things only continue to improve. We've learned so much about ourselves, the details of travel and simply getting along day-to-day in a different environment with a different language. With our feet more firmly planted in this neighborhood and in the local customs, we figure now's a good time to expand outward a bit with some side trips. There is still plenty to see in Vienna of course, but we're both ready to change some scene for a day or two.

It has been a huge past few days in my family, with birth of a grandchild in Nashville and the wedding of my daughter in Fort Worth. Part of me wants to run back to "help" and just participate in all this but I also have to consider how I'd feel in those positions. Generally, my attitude is I'm better left alone for awhile to deal with a new reality without pressure or expectations from outside. Time enough to get caught up on all this, or at least I hope so. While I agree it's usually a mistake to simply assume we have more time to do stuff, the optimist in me has to assume there's a tomorrow and a day after.

With that in mind, we've put together plans for the final quarter of our year abroad. We've bought the airline tickets from Martinique to Paris at the end of March next year. We discussed Greece and some other options, but Denise has not been to Paris and it's been 50 years for me. Life can be a lot worse than spring in France, though we're not yet sure exactly where we'll be living. Denise is in charge of that and has her own criteria and betting against her is usually a mistake. This'll be fun.

We've also decided it's probably best to head back to the US for a little while after the year on the road is done, There's family and friends we'll want to see, growing grandchildren to assess and we'll need to stay out of the EU for six months anyway. Details are still liquid but we have a general framework in mind. What happens after the end of 2023 is anyone's guess, given our incomes and whatever else might be in the offing, including the political situation in the US. It's one of the few issues about which I am not optimistic.

One of the lessons learned over the past month is how the US is oblivious to how hard it makes life for so many of its citizens. From health care to public transportation to living space to inconsistent legislation, Americans daily sacrifice so much on the altars of "freedom" and "democracy" that they have far less of both than most of the civilized world. I no longer try to explain or argue. Our 50th high school reunion is coming up this fall and, while I'll miss seeing some folks, I won't have to play nice just to get along with some others. Overall, I'll be glad we're in England.

We went over to the park this evening for a smoke and again I noticed some falling leaves. While it's still midsummer and we'll be back in the 90s for a few days this week, we're also in an area where four seasons are A Thang. I was fully 50 years old before I actually witnessed the changing of leaves, the drop in temperatures around Labor Day and other aspects of a real autumn. I got to see it again during my four years in the Pacific Northwest and it will happen here. Denise has never experienced it, so it'll be fun to watch.

I try a few times each week to get out by myself to explore and daydream a bit. It has been important no matter my age, job situation or where I've lived. But I think it's particularly important now that we're on this adventure because too many would think being on this kind of trip would be the goal instead of part of a process. We limit ourselves too often by using our own experiences to define how things should be, but I tell you I am simply in awe when I look at folks my own age over here and think about all the massive changes they've seen just in this city during their lifetimes -- not to mention in other places no farther away from here than Houston is from Dallas. Or how that building we just walked by is two centuries older than any permanent structure that exists in the United States. Humility isn't considered an American virtue (and especially not a Texas one) and it's a goddamned shame.

"...and even if time ain't really on my side, it's one of those days for takin' a walk outside..."