Did We Have A Good Day?

In the last several years of my stepmother’s life and her marriage with my father, I watched with increasing awareness of the tenderness they shared despite the fact that health declines and world contagion had so dramatically shrunk their world. Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, they were taking at least two international trips annually, and attended nearly every artistic event in the city of DC where they lived. After the plug was pulled on that, their evenings were spent watching the PBS Nighttime news, and programs that followed. I sat many evenings in their darkened sitting room (on what I can now say was the most uncomfortable couch in creation), watching as Dad would reach back behind his recliner and hold hands with Sally. It was really sweet. Dad had them on a strict clock, which dictated that the TV go off at 10:00PM, often in the middle of a program, and sometimes Sally would object if she was really involved in the program, to which Dad replied, “We’ll watch the rest tomorrow night.” And at 10:00, when I was there, I would rise from the couch and get the evening care nurse and see Dad stand near Sally and ask her “Did we have a good day?” To which Sally would always respond with a smile, “Yes.” At 94 and 99, this was not an insubstantial question, and the inferred meaning was “Well, we should be grateful that we got another one. Hopefully we’ll have another chance tomorrow, too.”

After Sally passed, of course, Dad had no one to ask that question to, but I adopted it into my daily routine. I now ask it of myself as I climb into bed after long and exhausting days. “Did we (the royal) have a good day?” Asking it demands of me fulfillment of that expectation. That I would have a good day. That I did have a good day, regardless of whatever went wrong.

I’m a very upbeat person and optimistic almost to a fault. So this morning when I got to the gym by 7:30, worked out for an hour then headed off to Trader Joe’s to get food for the lunch I was going to make for a friend, I was feeling nice and sore and full of anticipation for our very pleasant Lemony Roasted Mushroom Pasta lunch. I also had some books to mail so thought I’d stop at the post office to mail them before going home.

I pulled into the parking lot at the Post Office just south of Laurel Canyon and Ventura, and there were no parking spots; after waiting for traffic to pass, I inched out onto Laurel Canyon and turned sharply right into the parking lot for the mini mall on the corner there. Unfortunately, I shot over the curb and heard a terrible sound. Later I went back and discovered I’d run over this broken curb. I parked in that lot and got out of the car and discovered both my front right and rear right tires had been cut and were quickly flattening.

“I have just the tool for this!” I pulled out my airmoto from the glove compartment, only to discover the battery was dead and so plugged it in, resigning myself to an hour in the car before I could re-inflate my tires. (Any of you car-savvy folks are saying to yourselves: “What an idiot! Go look at the tires!”) All I can say in my defense is that the airmoto is now charged and ready to go. Take a moment and make sure yours is charged, too! I sat there in the car for the next hour, and made a video to demonstrate what a cool customer I was in the face of adversity. Take my word for it. I am cool as a cuke.

The airmoto charged and I went out to the front tire, attached it and watched as it blew and blew and pumped and pumped only to have all the air come out of what was clearly a two inch slash in that tire.

It was now 10:30 a.m. and I called my lunch buddy and we decided to postpone because I hadn’t cooked anything yet and I was still a long way from knowing what the next few hours would bring. Fortunately she was very gracious and we have a new date. I called my brother to get my AAA card out of my wallet at home and using the AAA app link my brother kindly sent, I ordered a tow.

Ivan arrived with a flatbed truck and after trying tape and some air on my tires, put my car up on the truck bed and I climbed into the front. “How’s your day, going?” Ivan asked, cheerily. “It could be going better, frankly. How about you?” He had a ready grin and we chatted as he drove my injured vehicle to the first repair shop, where the owner met us and told us quickly that he didn’t stock tires. Off to the dealership, where he dropped off the car in the back and I waited to talk with the service rep. I retrieved my flowers and groceries from the back seat of the car, and called my brother to come pick me up, please. Standing on the side of Lankershim with my bright orange and yellow flowers, I was a sight.

The day is young. The rims and tires both have to be replaced and the car won’t be ready until tomorrow and will cost way more than I had hoped or planned. In moments like these, I like to think of these as my first world problems, and the fact that I am privileged to be able to afford my stupidity. And I learned something. And tomorrow will have two new tires and a brand new aligned vehicle. So far, a pretty good day, all things considered.

Tonight, however, we are going to see the documentary The Librarians, which is showing at the NOHO Laemmle, and have planned to go out for ice cream afterwards to discuss the film. After watching the trailer, I’m pretty sure I will have lost my appetite for ice cream as my stomach was roiling just from the trailer. By the end credits, I figure we will all be quite hopping mad.

This is an urgent time for all Americans who support democracy. If you live in California, Vote Yes on Proposition 50 now or by November 4th. Get out on No Kings Day October 18th and do not accept the propaganda of the Republicans that this is an Anti-American day. Stay positive and find the joy in your life. Do what you can to support others – volunteer doing whatever brings you satisfaction and joy. Make your signs and make your plans with friends to go out and make some noise. It is critical.

Did we have a good day?