Winter Dreaming (Shades of Thomas Wolfe)

 Some dreamers tell a story of their dreams, with a beginning, middle, and end. My dreams may appear at first to have that type of  narrative, but after the context slips away, I'm left with a page in the middle of the book.

 Last night I dreamed I was at my childhood house, and had to go inside. There was no urgency. I don't think anyone was inside. I was alone. 

 It was midday, and there was snow on the ground, of  various depths where the snow had drifted. I approached from the left, trying to find the best path of entry. The house still had the full length porch along the front so I needed to gain access to that porch and it seemed the best way was to approach from that side, where there was more sunlight and where the snow seemed to have  melted a little. 

  I tried one area that looked promising, but the snow was deeper than I had thought. I tried another path way and then another and another, but the snow was too deep. I stopped,  thinking how I could get through to the house. And then the solution came to me. All I had to do was follow the footsteps  from when I'd left the house. The footprints were lightly covered with snow, and facing in the opposite direction but all I had to do was  step into them and my path would be possible. I put my foot into the first footprint and my feet turned  ice-cold. So cold that I woke  up.

Ad Nauseam

 What if the now President inflicted mortal injury on another. Would he be immune to prosecution? What if he staged a raid on the headquarters of an opponent. Maybe hanged a few. As president, he "can do anything he wants." No consequences. But decent people don't do stuff like that. Think aout it. While you still can.

Medical Advice

 I chatted with Doctronic today. Interesting...

Maybe I should leave the house more often

 I've stayed at home for days, it seems, with little reason or motivation to go out, but this morning I had a doctor's appointment. I wasn't eager to go because it was a referral to an ENT from a few months ago, and I figured  the reason would not still be apparent, and not worth treating. But I went anyway. The doctor was attentive and, as they say, treated me with respect--and success. He cleared the obstruction, advised me how to prevent future occurrences. And he didn't even suggest I consult the associated hearing aid office there, saying  my hearing loss was mild, and would probably improve with the treatment.

Enroute home, I stopped at the well-stocked Walgreen's in Mechanicville, and was able to purchase what I wanted, including a Coffee Lattee Ensure. Moreover, the very helpful clerk redeemed my $10 AARP coupon which had been negated at the Schaghticoke store. She was happy to do so, saying all it needed was to be scanned. 

As I was driving to Clifton Park, the warning light for low tire pressure appeared again on my dashboard., just days after the car passed inspection which included tire check and the plugging of a nail hole in one tire. The light was constant all the way home, so I stopped at Valley Auto, intending to leave my question at the desk there, as to what to do about the light. Instead, they dealt wih it right then, despite being very busy, as usual. Kyle said the tires were fully inflated, and the light is on because the battery in the sensor is wearing out, but won't need to be replaced until much later. There was no fee charged. 

  So today, within a span of a several hours, I had 3 positive encounters, with 3 friendly, helpful people in 3 different cities. A trifecta, I think it's called. 

New Expressions, new to me...

 I've always had a penchant for words and how they're used. The first time someone responded to my expression of "Thank you" with "Of course" I wasn't sure whether it was a polite or snarky rejoinder. I found it is now a widely used response, and noted that a doctor just said "Of Course" when I thanked him for his offering to call me on receipt of results. 

  I just heard another remark repeated which I found rather offbeat the first time I heard it, several weeks ago at Stewart's. Apparently "His (or her) hat's too tight"  is a thing. Language does continually evolve.

Check your treads here:

 

King and X

 I read that Stephen King finds twitter to be too toxic an environment, so he's leaving. He denied saying that Elon Musk is Trump's First Lady, but does acknowledge he would have said  so if he'd thought of it.