Is It Still February?

Dinner last night was very comical. It consisted of a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, submarine roll, soup, French fires, and a salad. I thought the soup was vegetable but it turned out to be turkey so all I had on my tray was the roll and salad. My roommate fared a little better as he had the turkey soup along with the salad and roll. We were both laughing hysterically when we got to our table. I did my best “Oliver Twist” impression and said in a very faux English accent, “Sir, may I have some more?” There are times like these where laughter is the best medicine. Normally, my roommate comes through with an alternative, but he didn’t think of it yesterday so our trays were a bit paltry. There is no complaint from either one of us as we both have plenty of food in our lockers. I returned to the room where I made a tuna fish sandwich on the roll along with some couscous. I have been hoarding my food and with 2 ½ weeks remaining, I think it is okay to eat some of it. The couscous had been with me since last March and although I will be on a tight budget when I get out, I don’t have to take any of the food I currently have with me. I don’t remember if I have ever had a tuna sandwich with couscous but there is first time for everything.

The rest of the evening was spent talking with my roommate. I did take another cold medicine pill before falling off to sleep. Once again it worked very well for a whole 15 minutes, but I did fall asleep very quickly. I slept so soundly when I woke up to go to the bathroom, I would have sworn it was in the early morning hours but it was only 10:30 pm!

Today being Saturday meant there was no need for me to go to the dining hall for breakfast so I had an unlimited time to run. A few weeks ago, I was able to run 90 laps which is close to 20 miles and a possible goal of mine was to run 100 laps for posterity sake. Since that time I have fallen short of that goal and today was no exception. I was able to complete 66 laps which is almost 15 miles in about 2 hours. The weather was absolutely beautiful – in fact I would categorize it as spectacular. It is hard to believe it is still February as the temperature approached 80 degrees. I felt very good while running and I attempted to “sweat out” the cold as it was confined to my head. When I finished running I could feel my sinuses draining which caused some minor head pain or a slight headache. I showered, ate, and then attempted to take a nap. However, I am not very good at taking naps as I laid in bed for 2 hours practically staring at the ceiling. I must say it was restful, but I never found sleep.

Later on in the afternoon the fire camp truly turned into the “Senior Development Center” as I played bocce ball with three others. This set was recently purchased for the camp and I felt like I was on display as we were playing. I once played bocce ball in Florida at my grandparents’ retirement home. This was probably over 30 years ago and here I was chasing the small white ball all over camp. Not many (if any) of my fellow inmates had ever seen this game before so the curiosity factor was very high. I lost count after the first 20 people asked us “What is that game?” Incidentally, bocce ball is a very simple game where the object is to get your bocce ball which is the size of a softball with the consistency of a billiard ball closest to the small white ball which is the size of a golf ball with the same solid consistency. It is a fairly simple game and now I have officially arrived at the “Senior Center”. The game was indeed fun, but I was a bit overwhelmed with the attention. I doubt I will ever play this game again (at least here) but it was a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon.

The evening brought about the Saturday night Scrabble match between my roommate, our friend, and myself. At first, my roommate was uninterested in playing but after pleading with him and informing him after tonight I only have 2 more Saturday evening remaining, he acquiesced and we played. It was a hot and contested match between my friend and myself, but as usual my friend prevailed. It is amazing as how he always wins, but it truly is not about winning or losing as much as it is about the laughter. We have a great time and those 2 hours pass so quickly. Hopefully, we will continue this tradition for the next two Saturday evenings. It was a very lovely day all around filled truly with fun and games!