Monday Morning

Eleven o’clock.

I’ve been to the store and stopped to chat for a moment with Karen. She flagged me down as I was walking past. I remarked that it was Monday, an unconventional day for a salon to be open. She replied that they were catching up, and that her usual Monday gig was still closed. It was Aesop who prompted me to go to the store for his snacks. He whined pitifully until I agreed to go. Luckily there was still one pouch of bacon strips on the shelf at the market. I further bought a liter of Coke, a pound of cottage cheese, and a Hot Pocket. At the checkout, I asked after JR’s little daughter. She’ll be starting kindergarten next fall. The weather cooperated for my pilgrimage. According to the forecast, no rain until one o’clock. Before departing, I went on Amazon and preordered the 40th anniversary edition of Rush’s Permanent Waves. It was the very first Rush album I owned on vinyl. Mom bought it for me at Fred Meyer in the summer of 1981. I listened to it every morning till it was spotless. The record was warped and made a whoosh during play, especially on the outer edge. For a turntable I had a cheap Panasonic three in one stereo, a Christmas gift from fourth grade. Mom replaced it with a very nice Pioneer system a year later. Anyhow, the Rush music was incredible, and with each listen I noticed something new. It was very instructional for me as a drummer in the junior high school band. After that summer I would be a Rush follower for the career of the band.

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