Tuesday morning

14 March 2017

— car lights looming out of heavy fog

Good Morning All,

Concerning my visit to the doctor yesterday, I got lucky! You may recall last week, I told Lowell he was having a senior moment when he called Monday night for our Tuesday night Skype-chat and cyber-backgammon session. Well, guess who showed up for his Tuesday doctor’s appointment Monday morning?

I wish I could describe the expression on the middle-aged receptionist’s face when she let me know I was twenty-four hours ahead of schedule. Such patient and kindly eyes! I suspect this will not be the last time I see such sad benevolence on the faces of strangers.

Anyway, I was happy I got the date and time of the appointment correct. Getting the day wrong was—relatively speaking--no big deal. 

With sudden free time, I went to the Tiger Store, Denmark’s equivalent of a Dollar Store, and was lucky enough to find in a plastic bird cage a plastic parrot that tweets and chirps when voice activated. I did not know until I clapped my eyes on the picture on the box just how much I had longed for just such a voice-activated, multicoloured, plastic parrot, whose tail feathers flick up and down when he chirps.

Years ago, the kids gave me a rubber pig that sits on the top shelf of the refrigerator and oinks loudly when the door opens and the light comes on. I have come to love this pig. Now that I have no cat, there are days when if it were not for this pig I would have no one to talk to.

This bird will also help. I am thinking of naming it Alexa. I have a friend who has one of those Amazon Echo-Alexa Enabled gadgets, and he talks to it quite often. If we are in the middle of a conversation, and Alexa suddenly pipes up, “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite understand the question,” my friend will reply, “For the hundredth time, Alexa, will you please shut up.” Once they get to know each other better, I would not be surprised to hear him say, “Right to moon, Alexa, right to the moon!”

Anyway, my bird starts chirping when it hears anything louder than my gently touching these keys. I made the discovery that a little mechanical birdsong goes quite a long way. So, after about a half an hour of that, I went over and switched her off. I must say she looked as relieved as I.

That said, off I go to the doctor in the hopes she doesn’t ask me if my girth covers two time zones.

Go Well and Stay Well,

Bhekaron

P.S. The house pictured in the Day Book belongs to my former neighbor Kurt, who is 88. We gave him a framed 8X10 copy of that picture, which now hangs in his front hall.