I like my mind.  I’m glad it’s attached to the rest of me.  And I need to treat it as the precious gem it is.  As Mahatma Gandhi said …

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet

I need to watch other people, and I need to watch me.

My mind doesn’t stay put.  Sometimes it roams all over my head and sometimes it’s a pinpoint: focused, decisive, clear as glass.

I have both … regularly.

You’ll be happy to know that on Saturday, July 25 I’m meeting Christine at 3:00.  So says my Samsung calendar.  The trouble is … I don’t know who Christine is.  For a day now I’ve been grunting with the effort to remember her.

No luck.  The only Christine I know is a dear friend who lives in the U.K.  And I’m pretty sure I haven’t bought a Eurostar ticket that would take me through the tunnel under the English Channel.

So the mystery hangs in the air.

***

As for the other end of things, I’ve decided:  I will not go on trips that expose me to high heat and humidity. 

And so I’m writing this from Gent, not from the Dour Festival.  I cancelled my reservation for dancing and camping.  The festival runs from July 15 till the 19th.  The weather forecast has changed for Friday to Sunday: the temperatures will drop.  Still, my mind said “No” a few days ago, and I agreed.

Part Two of heat and humidity is my planned trip with friends to Senegal in October.  I just said “No” to that too.  I cancelled my flight.

I will dearly miss seeing people I love in the town of Toubacouta but the laser beam of my current mind sees the issue clearly.

October in Senegal is still in the rainy season.  Historical weather data and Bruce data show this:

77-years-old

Average high temperature 35°C (95°F)

Average humidity 75%

…

The AI verdict?

“Extremely dangerous”

So Gent will also be my domicile in October.  It points to what has become a favourite mantra of mine …

I don’t want to

***

Like yesterday, my head is held high.  It feels strange to say but “Me first” has a place in my life.