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Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things. Actually, Sound Of Music is one of them. As is Julie Andrews in her prime. From here on I will list them as they occur to me -- not in order of importance or pleasure.
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Here are a few of my favorite things. Actually, Sound Of Music is one of them. As is Julie Andrews in her prime. From here on I will list them as they occur to me -- not in order of importance or pleasure.

  • A meal consisting of a thick slice of hot boiled tongue and creamed spinach... (this is called starting out on the wrong foot).

  • Lying on the couch with Iris. We are in opposite directions and we are both reading. Stroking a leg adds to the warmth.

  • Watching my 15-year-old grandson, Eric, play basketball.

  • Riding my bike in the country. I alternate among five different routes. About forty-five minutes, mostly flat, a few hills and some of my most productive thoughts.

  • Taking a nap, often an hour, usually between three and four pm. Lying on the chaise lounge in the bedroom, covered by a quilt, numbing heat from a radiator nearby.

  • Getting in bed around eleven, reading a good book for 15 minutes before turning out the lights, heading for the big sleep. Iris is beside me. We are holding hands as off we go.

  • Playing tennis on Wednesday mornings with my two sons and a fourth. For 25 years I was a regular in this game. Now, at 88, I am a sub, hanging on.

  • Playing paddle tennis in the country on winter weekends. I feel much more confident in paddle than I do in tennis.

  • My acting class.

  • Reading The New York Times in the morning.

  • Taking some kids and grandkids to one Yale game a season. I started this with my eldest when he was eight. That was 53 years ago. I haven't missed many games over the years.

  • Going to dinner with friends we enjoy and who enjoy us.

  • Taking some grandchildren to theater I know they will enjoy. Looking forward to Hamilton this friday.

  • Visiting my daughter in Portland, Maine. Son-in-law, poodle, two cats. A quiet restful weekend.

    • I'm a long way from exhausting this topic but I am limited by space. My list is idiosyncratic and age appropriate. It would be different if I were younger; it would be different if I were you.

    If you make your own list, it might bring forth gratitude for things you have been taking for granted. That would be, as they say, cool.

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