Chance Encounters, Birthday Dates, Fascinating Dreams, and Realizations…

First things first, to the gentleman whose name I never caught last night in the noise, thank you for being such wonderful company, a great conversationalist, and for helping me stumble through new territory as we tried (and succeeded!) in finding my car in Downtown Tucson – and just before closing time – 10 pm.

Last night, was a first for me in more ways than a few – I took myself out on a first date the week of my birthday and the first since the love of my youngish life (I turn 61 this week) died on January 10th, 2023. Also the realization that I have been remiss in not including more about Les on this blog. There are entries (years worth) on Facebook but not here – I will need to remedy that but not in one blog post. No, the most important man, husband, and love I have ever known deserves much more than that.

Back to last night, to be noted, I have never visited the heart of Tucson and certainly not on my own at night – last night was a first. I love jazz – something Les and I shared to an extent but I think he loved me more than the music.  So there had been wine bars celebrating jazz in the early days of our marriage but never an all out celebration of the music itself.

Last night I took myself to the Century Room at Hotel Congress to enjoy the music of The Adam Larson Quartet – great presentation, amazing sound, and captivating performance – and I can honestly say, I am hooked – I will be back! The staff at the Century Room were welcoming and fun but the gentleman I first met and got to spend a memorable evening with really made the event so much nicer. Cheers, my friend 🙂

Following dinner, I had made a reservation at Maynards – sadly, they had run out of Sea Bass so I had to substitute for a sort of hamburger and fries – the burger was good but honestly, not great  –  but I was having too much fun to worry about it. I was chatting away about my first love – writing and more directly, my stories.

Until last night, I had forgotten how much I loved talking about writing and how much it has been focus of my life in brilliant and enlightening ways – and how blessed I am to have the gift of words!

Ah, but there is another part of this narrative I need to mention – a dream, the last before I awoke this morning – it really was a nice change – and one I wish I remembered more of. What it unveiled for me was a need to focus on the things I find fascinating – books, chance encounters with fabulous bookstores, and people in my life to share that love with.

In the dream I was surrounded by family, yes, and new friends – with strange dogs…but hey, I’m a  writer so there has to be something strange in my dream, right? LOL

Anyway, I digress – what I found more than anything was that my trip to downtown opened my mind to a world I never knew existed (largely in part to a wonderful tour guide) and a desire to learn more about that world. And, to be noted, I have been wanting to go back to college, and what better way than to find myself immersed in heart of Tucson.