AUSTIN, Texas, July 26, 2005 — The song says it's diamonds (I'll see Carol Channing tonight). A girl's best friend, that it. I say it's travel. Escaping so that you can see things more clearly when you get back. Right? Surely.

I get up at a reasonable hour. Get ready for a workout. Do a few things at my desk. I'm emailing a friend about when to lunch and she says maybe today. That means I need to get to the gym, get finished, get cleaned up. So I do. Good, long bike ride reading old The New York Times issues. Yesterday's travel section and book review mostly. Back home, FFP and I are in the bathroom getting ready at the same time. Which works now that we have a big bathroom

and two sinks. I haven't heard back from my friend about lunch so I call. After some indecision she decides on NXNW at 11:30 and I agree. I call a friend I'm trying to set up a belated birthday dinner with (no answer, leave message) and fool around with our calendar. The calendar is filling up with lunches and our various committees and friends and stuff. Good, I suppose. Nice to travel and just be unable to do those things, though. Escape. Things will take care of themselves, your friends will live without you in the social settings while you visit with the far off folks.

Another thing that travel does is make you realize that you get along fine without 99 percent of what you surround yourself with on an everyday basis. So now I'm looking at piles of stuff in my office, dreaming of downsizing. Unfortunately, dreaming is all it is.

But it's time to go have lunch with my friend and commiserate with her about how work sucks and vacation is the only salvation. Even in retirement, everyday life becomes the work, I guess. I grab a banana (need a little something in my stomach even though I'm going to lunch) and I'm headed up to tell FFP where I'm going when she calls. It won't workout to have lunch. OK, fine. I reverse myself and go in the kitchen and make a sandwich with some chips and green onions and settle in to screen a couple of AFF movies. During the second one the maid shows up. I go ahead and finish watching it while she vacuums elsewhere. Then I take care of planning a social event.

We are going out early this evening for a dinner and show gala for Austin Cabaret Theater featuring the one and only Carol Channing but I have a little time to see if I can publish twenty-six days of journal entries. Journal entries that, at this point, bore me senseless. I didn't succeed in that. I got distracted by something else and then had to try to dress 'razzle dazzle' for the Carol Channing gala.

We went off to the Carol Channing event. It was a benefit for Austin Cabaret Theater. And what a fine deal it was. A small auction, lots of Austin's best people and Carol! She told stories, performed a few songs, danced with husband Harry. At a reception after, Stuart Moulton must have fulfilled a lifelong dream...imitating the lady with the lady right there by his side. Strange and wonderful.

Ms. Channing was so gracious, staying long after I was tired, signing autographs, letting people get pictures. She is the grand lady of the theater who defies her age (84). I had a really great time. Was at a front table for the show, visited with our friend Leanna and an old work buddy who showed up and we got at our table, enjoyed seeing the ACT raise money because I love their shows. Lady Bird Johnson, Linda, Liz Carpenter were there, too. (Along with Karen Kuykendall in this picture. Not to name drop or anything. Karen is one of my favorite people/singers/actresses in the whole world and while not as famous as Carol at least as amazing in my book.) Yeah, you know good friends are a girl's best friend, really. No matter what your age.

I feel tired and a little headachy when we leave. But I had a great time. Home and bed. Tomorrow I'm going to publish the journal. Really.