Opua: 65
Opua: 65
While I am being short-changed a few hours by being on this side of the Dateline, I am 65 years old today. The above photo was taken a few minutes ago with the iSight camera in this MacBook: self-portrait of the artist/sailor as old man.
Partially cloudy and cool and still today.
I rowed ashore and walked up the road to the top of the hill for the view and exercise. It is about a half-mile and steep. At the top you are three or four hundred feet above the water. Most of the way there are houses on only one side of the road. The other falls away too steeply to build and is covered with wild vegetation. This being spring there are flowers on both sides: yellow, orange, white, red, against New Zealand’s essential and infinite variations of green.
I started a short story, ‘Saint Stylites of Las Vegas’, which I may have written a long time ago, but if so it is long gone and would be different now anyway.
I’ll do my exercises later. I should be able to do my age in push-ups for five more years. I can do a few more than 70, but not many more. I foresee problems in 2013.
When I was last in Pahia I asked the man in the liquor store to recommend a good bottle of red wine for a birthday, not mentioning it was mine. He suggested a Pinot Noir that had recently won some award. It only cost $30 NZ--about $20 US. I would have spent more. I’ll open it tonight with whatever freeze dry meal I feast upon.
New Zealand has a good classical music station, but today I’m listening to my own music of some 400 albums carried to and fro in an iPod.
I’ll try to Skype Carol in a while. She will only now be getting home from work on Friday.
A gentle, peaceful day.
Saturday, November 11, 2006