Understand

Hi,

Monday in Palo Alto was sunny and cold.  Not a cloud in the sky, but still required warm clothes.  

The ‘Easy Monday’ song slid right past everyone.  Maybe today someone will remember this comedic number:

“I told her that I was a flop with chicks.  I’ve been that way since 1966.  She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign, she said, ‘what you need is __ __ __ __… I didn’t know if it was day or night.  I started kissing everything in sight.  But when I kissed the cop down at Thirty-Fourth and Vine, he broke my little bottle of __ __ __ __.”  Clue:  There is a number involved.  It’s kind of a love song, with a stretch of the imagination.

Our morning began with the cold walk to the front office of the motel for hot coffee.  One needs that in order to pack bags at 6:30 in the morning.  We seem to be traveling lighter and lighter on the Palo Alto adventure, since we rarely wear everything we take.  

We did breakfast at Stacks again with Joe, and the waiter was great with our ‘special’ orders.  He got everything right.  I always enjoy the  ‘culture’ of places like Stacks, where there is a family vibe among the staff and the regulars.  During our meal we talked about kids and language, and creativity.  We always have stimulating conversations and it’s easy to spend the day bouncing around to different topics.

Joe wanted to spend some time in his studio and we wanted to do a little shopping so ventured out.  There is a Target near his house, so that was our first stop.  After looking around a bit, checking the place out, I realized it was like an ‘outpost’ store.  Not quite the full deal.  The departments were all smaller than usual.  Hmm, interesting.  

The photo for the day was taken at the Palo Alto Art Center.  The bear you see is made of wood, and various fabrics.  The artist had an encounter with a bear once, in the woods and the experience moved him.  It’s about 6’ tall.

I don’t know how we ever managed negotiating around places like Palo Alto without the Google Maps Lady.  As frustrating as she can sometimes be, she gets us where we want to go.  Sometimes she needs help too.  Like when we were looking for the GNC store that was supposed to be within walking distance of where we were.  In frustration I asked a UPS driver who was making a delivery and he sent us straight to it.  

Where the Target store had been small, the Big 5 we found was gigantic.  I have never seen such a big ‘5’.  They had stuff I didn’t know I needed.  Lisa said that’s the time to run.  

The rest of the day was about finding a late lunch, and enjoying the subtle gallery that is Joe’s house.  There is something to see at every turn of the head.  It might be a tiny drawing, or a gift from someone that has been on the wall for years.  

When we got to the San Jose Airport, the first thing that struck us was the number of young people wearing Cal jerseys and other items.  The California State University at Berkley Band was my final conclusion.  Then I deduced that they were flying down to march in the Rose Parade.  Then a guy on the P.A. congratulated them.  I looked it up and their football team beat Illinois in a bowl game.  The downside of all this airport joy was the messy check-in that resulted in our not getting our TSA pre-check, which meant we had to stand in extra long lines, unpack bags, blah, blah.  

We got home at 11pm but I must say, today was a good day.  

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“Seek first to understand, then to be

understood.”

~Stephen Covey