Inventory (English)

In English for John, so he doesn't ask silly questions. It's just a pity he's monolingual ;) ....

Sometimes you have to take stock. I've been thinking a lot about that in the last couple weeks. Why, I don't know. Just something that happens in the fall, I suppose. It may make even more senes this fall, with the heavy and persistent rains we have been experiencing here. Over all I have to say that today, now, my life is full of rose moments. I have a lot to be thankful for, a concept which is lingering around the edges of my mind because Thanksgiving is fast approaching.

I have a lot to be thankful for in no particular order

-I have not one, but two houses which generate enough money between their three rental units to essentially pay for themselves. Right now, I'm spending about $300 a month beyond what they generate to live in one of them.

-I have not one, but two cars. My workaday car is a 1998 Saturn SL with almost 160,000 miles on the clock, and they're all mine. It still gets 42 miles highway and has the original clutch; I do believe that the Saturn SL is the 2-CV of latter 20th century American automobiles. My other car is a 1986 Jaguar SJ6 Vanden-Plas, one of only 18,000 ever made; even at nearly 20 she is still beautiful and still rides like a dream. Her burled walnut dash and her creamy leather seats are still as elegant today as when she rolled off the assembly line in Coventry.

- I travel regulary to Europe. I know the best Indian restaurants in Wales.

- I can blend in in four European countries.

- I speak 5 languages well.

- I live in Upstate New York, in Schenectady. Yes, I am thankful for that. I can think of only one or two other places I would honestly move to. Shangrila, this ain't, but it's not Somalia, Chechnya or Florida either.

- I have great neighbors, and at least decent tenants. These are my "house tribe" the way the Old People would have said it. They help me, and I help them. I will rue the day when any of that changes.

- I have a wide range of friends and acquaintances, some of whom I have know for ages. I have known Theresa for 27 years now. Many of my close friends and acquaintances I have known for more than 10 years. My friends live in 4 countries.

- I have a great job where I'm useful, perhaps even integral.

- I am paid well enough to enjoy some of the finer things in life.

- At 33, nearly 34, I can still attract and bed-down 18 and 19 year olds. Some people may think this is lecherous, but I think it's wonderful, and as long as I can, I will. My hat is off to my friend Kelvin from Wales who I saw snag a 23 year old this summer. He is 43. Perhaps it's the Welsh pheromones? It's lovely to know that some younger folks appreciate the skill and attention of an older lover.

- My mother is still alive. Even though she is not my favorite person, I have come to appreciate her lot in life more as I have aged. Additionally, as long as she is alive, then I'm not necessarily "next."

- I was raised in the country, and I know country ways. I know where my food comes from and I can honor the sacrifices of the animals who die to nourish me.

- I had a large extended family as I child. I still remember their names and faces, and the moments we spent together; I still miss them now that they are gone. I am thankful too that as they died I learned to appreciate life and people more than others who have not been so graced. It is, indeed, better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Because of losing them, I know how to let go of people when death takes them. I know to mourn the dead and bury them. I know how to scatter ashes. I suspect that I will have to do that many more times before I die myself. At least, I pray I will. I wish a long life for myself, not a short one.

Finally, I'm thankful for every rose moment, great or small. I'm sure life, if it has any meaning whatsoever, is for living and enjoying. I was lucky enough to be born in a rich country, with the waywithal to find a fair place for myself. I was born a picaro, but I have found my good port...