AUSTIN, Texas, June 8, 2005 — Things feel new. It's Forrest retiring, maybe. It's Dad getting back to a more independent place. Maybe. It's planning a road trip. Maybe it's a new digital camera? (Although I've taken almost no pictures with it.)

Struggled up this morning. Stayed up too late, you know. But I was focused. Sort of. FFP and I were going in different directions again. Just as he came back from the club, I was leaving.

I had a fairly good workout. As usual (these

days) I had a stack of newspapers. But I consumed all the time on the bike reading the front page section from the Sunday New York Times. In spite of full page ads of searsucker sports coats, bright ties and watches just in time for Father's Day, the combination of many words and my slow reading made it last fifty minutes. Then I did some weights. Lately, I haven't felt like I did enough exercise other than the cardio. However, my muscles feel like they are getting stronger. Weird.

When I got home I had a banana, some cereal with low fat yogurt. I'm trying to eat better. Well, a little anyway. Shut up. We are going out tonight and I figure I'll have a glass of wine or two, bread and butter, dessert, mashed potatoes. (I figure right, too, because I'm writing this after the fact and I did have those things plus green beans and pork.)

I call a place about taking Chalow to stay while we are on our vacation. I get showered up. I watch a couple films for AFF.

Then I go to AAA. That doesn't feel new. Haven't been to that place (in a strip mall) in a long time, but it hasn't changed too much. They have these online TrikTix but I want to see if they will make up the old kind from the little maps. Their office is way the heck out 183. To me anyway.(The strip mall has changed a lot. But it's still a mix of fast food, other restaurants, little stores, tanning shop, stuff like that. The faces just seem to change. A friend had a restaurant here many moons ago. It's an independent pizza joint now.) The gal at the front desk takes my info and says she'll send the old-fashioned Trip-Tix along with maps and stuff. It's free so why not? (Well, I pay for the membership but that's my towing insurance.) I buy a new U.S. Atlas for $10.

And I go to Dad's. I ask him if he wants to leave early for the dinner and go to Costco and fill up the van with gas. He says he does. He tells me, sort of sheepishly I think, that he's agreed to trade vehicles with a friend so they can take four people on a car trip with luggage, using the van. He often seems to ask my permission to do stuff. I say it sounds fine. We go get the gas and I leave him in the van with the motor and AC running and run in to get that new book (1776) from the Costco proper. (FFP wanted it. Whether the additional discount was worth the trouble of going into Costco, I don't know.) We still have lots of time before our (early) dinner so I go driving around on Greystone and Valburn and places I haven't been in a long, long time looking at fancy houses and vistas. Dad enjoys it, too.

We meet FFP and a couple of friends (a couple) at Mirabelle. It's early. Turns out they have early bird entrées at reduced prices. With that and taking our own wine, the bill is less than $30/person and we all have salad or soup (included) and several have dessert and/or coffee. And that includes tax and the (included because we are five) tip. And probably a corkage. Dad feels he owes us and our friends (who have visited and brought him things when he wasn't doing too well). So he gets out his credit card and pays. I'm glad he doesn't get hit too hard. Even though I just spent $27 filling his van with gas!

After dinner I take him home and go home myself. I read the manual for my new camera and watch more films. Drink some coffee. Stay up too late. It's a pattern, I tell you.