Projecting

November 26th (Monday) – Projecting

Yesterday afternoon, I looked up at the family visit cottage and thought to myself that next week at the same time I will be in there spending the time with my wife. As I had this thought, a smile came across my face. Yes, I am projecting a future event, which may contradict the one-day-at-a-time philosophy, however, I am visualizing my time together with my wife next weekend. I also had a thought that this time next week our family visit will be winding down. I am certainly looking forward to my wife’s arrival on Friday, and this may sound odd but I will not mind her departure on Monday. Her departure will put me one day closer to being reunited with my family, and I have reached a point where I am really looking forward to February 27th. I most certainly will enjoy every moment of the visit with my wife because it has been too long since we spent time alone together, and who knows when the next time will be. This all goes towards one of the many lessons I have learned and continue to learn. This lesson is to not take anything, especially any moment, for granted, and I won’t.

The rest of yesterday was very peaceful, and the fire meals finally came to an end. The visiting crews departed yesterday afternoon since the weather forecast did not call for any winds. The crews were headed toward their camp and making that very long drive. It was surprising how a few guys were upset we weren’t served a full fire meal. My roommate and I have discussed this before, and we are amazed at the entitlement issue of some of our fellow inmates. I am grateful for everything I receive, and for being incarcerated, it really isn’t too bad.

My roommate and I resumed our Sunday night ritual by listening to “60 Minutes” on the radio. The final segment was an interview with the members of the group the “Eagles.” Apparently, they have released their first new material CD in 28 years this past week. I have always enjoyed the “Eagles” and also enjoyed the solo careers of the members. I wasn’t aware they released a brad new CD, and this is only available at Wal-Mart. It appears the recording industry is suffering with the advent of downloading music, and the best way for the Eagles to market their CD was with the agreement with Wal-Mart. It was interesting to hear the double CD only costs $11.88, which is much less expensive than similar double CD’s. I also learned that the Eagles record “Greatest Hits Volume I” is the biggest selling record in history with 60 million copies sold. I did not know this, and if memory serves me properly, I believe my wife has the cassette.

As I listened to the interview, I thought about the time my wife and I saw the Eagles in concert. It was in 1994 in Las Vegas. This was supposedly their farewell tour. It has been some farewell tour as 13 years later they are releasing new material! The concerts was very good back in 1994, and it is funny how I can remember the evening just like it was yesterday even though it occurred 13 years ago. Oh yes, time certainly does fly by!

The show was over, and I watched my roommate fall fast asleep by 8:00 p.m. He had a very busy week, and I know he is glad that the fire meals are over. Hopefully, this will be it for the fire season. Typically, the fire season starts in June and ends in November. Unfortunately, California and other western states have been in a drought for almost the past two years. It certainly isn’t typical because the wild lands are very dry. The region is in need of a consistent rain, and I have no idea what lies ahead in the next few months. Again, typically, December through March are rainy months, and I am hoping the rains return or the fire season may never end.

I fell asleep listening to the radio and had one of those up and down evenings. I woke up and went through my normal routine and headed over to the office to check in. Normally, someone is readily available in the office for me to inform I am running. Today, after a few minutes, I didn’t see anyone so I started to run and figured I would see someone while I was running. Apparently, I caused unneeded stress because, after my 7th lap, I heard my name called, and I went over. I was given a very nice warning about informing someone when I run. I apologized and continued on my run. I guess I fell into a comfortable routine since, if I am not in my room or bathroom at 5:00 in the morning, I am running around the track. This is my intention on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays; however, it is still prison and no mater how consistent my routine, I can take nothing for granted. Yes, this was my mistake, and I did apologize. Oops!

After the run, it was off to breakfast and off to start my work week. It is amazing how quickly the morning disappears. I ate lunch at the base of the hill, and as I looked at today’s date, I did some projecting. In three months from today, this will be my final day in prison. I was visualizing that day, which I imagine won’t be any different from today. I watched the squirrels scurry and the birds fly by. I noticed three beautiful blue jays looking for food, and I noticed the bright beautiful blue sky. I don’t see anything changing three months from now, and I will continue to enjoy the journey.