Perfect End to My Perfect Day

View from My Writing Desk

I left Demetri's and headed to Southside to do the trifecta (drop of books at library, cross street to check mail at post office, cross again to pick up a few things at Golden Temple.  Then, with nowhere in particular to be, I decided to go to the Books-a-Million at Brookwood Mall.  I love to go there and camp out at a table by the window, sip coffee or tea, read several magazines and maybe buy a few.  Content has gotten so shallow and even repetitive, I can't spend 5 or 6 dollars unless there is serious content that I can use in my life or writing.

I got to Brookwood too early, so I sat at the tables in the food court closest to the the floor to ceiling windows that give a panoramic view of the small street below.  I like what they've done at Brookwood.  Its like a toy town main street, clean and verdant.  I hope the planned Target doesn't destroy the ambient feel of it all.

I sat there watching a large contingent of elderly folks walking in 2's and 3's getting in their morning laps.  I  pulled a bottle of water from my bag and called my sister, Barbara, in Atlanta to catch up on her weekend - I love cell phones.

At 10, I make my way into Joe Muggs and stake out my favorite table with my bag, bought an iced tea and a raisin bagel, read 5 or 6 magazines, read the last back page essay in Victoria (excellent as usual). One of my essays once graced that back page as did Joyce Carol Oates - not bad company.

Before I knew it, it was noon.  I took the new Writer's Digest and Sage Woman to the front register, but no one was there.  I waited and looked around then decided to save my $12 and leave.  It was noon and a cold Peroni at Brio's was calling my name - good food, excellent service and a view - oh yes.

I left the magazines at the register and crossed the street.  I sat at the bar in my usual place with a view of the fountain, the walk and the street just outside.  I love windows with a view of lives on parade - people passing by wrapped in their own worlds - worlds I can only imagine.

A cold Peroni, bread and olive oil and a steaming bowl of Minestrone later, I order a second beer, pull 4 chapters of my manuscript out of my bag and begin to read and edit with a red pen.

Around 3, I packed it in.  I didn't want to end a perfect day by getting caught in rush hour traffic - it was a Monday after all.

I stopped at Wilson's market to pick up some dos Equis and stopped a moment in front of the straw-strewn empty lot that once boasted a modest 4-plex that was my home.  I continued on to my new home - another #4, albeit a much larger #4 in another Southside 4-plex.

As I reach the top step, I see propped against my door what could only be my 2012 Writer's Market.  It's only 3:30.  I start some soup for dinner and put it to simmer, open a beer and head to the balcony with my Writer's Market, a pad and lots of post it flags.

At 7 I'll eat my soup with fresh buttered cornbread, then retire to the couch accompanied by Jazmine (cat) and the latest episode of Terra Nova.  This was a perfect day.