Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the best so monotonous, poor and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul.”
–Aldous Huxley
I came across the above quotation during my ongoing perusal of the LTG archives. In the past, it resonated as I felt trapped in my routines. These days, I take comfort in the sameness and hope that I can keep doing what I do well into the future. I think the different outlook can be attributed to growing older and having fewer options. The less you can do, the less you are missing out on. Funny how that works.
So, once again, no one chose to participate in the Friday group hike, so I was on my own. I suspect the ongoing heat wave may be a factor in the unwillingness to hit the road, but I’d rather be hot and miserable than bored and miserable. In deference to the temperature, I opted for the relatively flat and easy Philseco loop walk.
Then at beer o’clock, I headed back out. First stop was getting my ears lowered at the barber shop. After getting clipped for 100 pesos, plus a 50 peso tip, it was time to satiate my beer appetite. Conveniently located across the highway was Red Bar, where Swan awaited my joining her.
We still enjoyed our time outside on the patio. Even ordered a big pizza to share with the girls. When it was time for our nightcap, we headed a block up the highway to Jumpin’ Jacks.
Since we were the only customers on a Friday evening (it was still early, the live music didn’t start until 9), I splurged and bought a round of lady drinks for all the girls. Yeah, once in a blue moon, I’ll pretend I’m a two-week millionaire. A pleasant visit as usual, but the clock chimed 8 pm (the clock in my head, I mean), and we paid our tab and headed for home.
Yep, successfully rolled through another day in paradise. It never gets old!
Another old photo of my mom and dad popped up in Facebook Memories today:
From the June 2019 LTG archives is a post in which I reflect on the meaninglessness of my life and look back through the years at the various times and places where emptiness abounded. Which triggered me to recall one of my favorite Earnest Hemingway stories, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” It’s kind of funny how that study of drinkers I shared yesterday had a Hemingway category, which is a good fit for how beer impacts my personality. And as I mentioned earlier, I’ve reached a point where the life I’m living “satisfices.” It was a long road getting here.
And today’s YouTube video is a reading of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” Less than ten minutes long and well worth the time. Or if you are old-school, you can read it yourself here.
Time for the shit that makes you smile:
And so it goes.
Here’s one from the wayback machine that I’ve not heard in this century.