The sanctuary is right in town, by the high school sports fields. I was bundled up in caps and warm ups and fleece and headphones. I had a really pleasant walk in the 20something degree weather, among hardwood trees with no leaves. I saw two blue birds with orange breasts. Then I walked up to nearby Park University (www.park.edu), and wandered among the 80 year old buildings. It was a nice morning. After my wife's appointment, we wandered in the quaint shops, suitably stacked with shoppers.
We headed to a lunch with a guy my wife grew up with and his 7 year old daughter.
We thought we were to meet at a "Chevy's", which is a competent chain Tex/Mex place, but instead the address proved to be a Westport "Chubby's", a 24 hour coffee shop kind of place. I had to adjust my thinking from enchiladas to Reuben sandwich with tater tots, but I survived relatively nicely.
I watched a smidgen of the LSU/Arkansas game, but then, while my wife rested, left to drive to the History Museum of Johnson County, where the paper said a mask exhibition is on. I am always down for masks, or at least I think I am, but the museum was closed. Then I headed to the Maple Street bookstore, my favorite used bookstore in KC. It has gone out of business. I did find The Mystery Bookstore, where I bought numerous used Lord Peter Wimsey books, so that I can re-read those books for the holiday season. A holiday season is enlivened by murders solved and accents imagined.
I figured out Wednesday that the Kansas City Chess Club is having a tournament tonight, so if I can figure out how to get there, I'll go play in it. First, though, I must drop my wife off at the Plaza,where a group of family members gather for an annual post-xmas-shopping gathering. I'm quite comfortable with playing chess in the face of such post-shopping-joy.
Tomorrow is to be warmer. I am ready for warmth--and four games of chess.
