that isn't useless

Gazing out the window on the bus to Nowhere, what to say that isn’t useless in the surrounding time-space. Sooth, it isn’t surrounding, I’m part of it. And that somewhat reluctantly, having made my first mistake of the day: reading News online. Why do we bother. 

Indoors now after two hours on the balcony with wind and dark, damp breeze and mist, same slow shrimp boat and its low hum. Lightest drizzle of rain. 

Port light of another craft passing, for sure not Navy, as they don’t head out for their hard day at sea until eight o’clock. Not sarcasm, just observation. Navy lab, I suppose they’re doing scientific work that requires going outside the three mile limit for cigarettes before returning to port by happy hour. 

Second cup of coffee and still too drowsy to walk this morning. Walk anyway, get with it, Buster. 

What to write. No Easter Week off to recoup, Thursday afternoon text “Kristen’s home until Sunday” from her mother, exhausting Sunday morning, Papa’s standard Sunday afternoon tension with Kristen on the road, escalating to extreme panic at 7:44, text at 7:45 “I’m here.” Almost invariably, the panic kicks in moments before the text. Retired priest is not the same as retired naval officer, and there’s no such thing as a retired Papa. 

At my last Washington assignment, one of my assistants was a GS-15 who was a retired Navy captain named Otis: he told me that once you retire the Navy hopes never to hear from you again. But this will be a good week, my one task is prepare for Tuesday morning Bible Seminar, a highlight of being retired. Starting at the end, the post-resurrection appearances, we’re plowing into the Gospel according to John. In the beginning was the Word, and ...

What to say that isn’t useless in the time-space that is Monday morning.

Ahh, "sooth" -- I trashed my overused word "actually" and googled for a synonym. 

TW