I'm gonna become a dandy.

I frequent thrift stores. And buy more than I need. But I also donate stuff. Lots of stuff. More than I buy. So I’m recycling stuff. It’s fun. For instance, the other day the thrift store had a 75 percent off sale on everything marked with a pink tag. Bought a batch of shirts and sweaters. Cost me about $1 each. Good stuff. New. Or almost new. Had to clean out my closets to hang the stuff. And yesterday, lo and behold, I bought a leather couch and love seat. Used. But in beautiful shape. No pink tag. Cost me $80 for the couch. And $40 for the matching love seat. Wow! Still a steal. It’s a burgundy color. A dark red. Replaces furniture I’ve had in my living room for maybe 30 years. Anyway, it has a masculine look about it. And I’m thrilled. By the new look. And, oh, so comfortable. I’ll spend more time in the living room now. The two pieces face each other. Several days ago I purchased a huge framed modern abstract painting. For $15. I had been looking for artwork to hang over a high-on-the-wall entry door to an attic storage area. Just off the living room. It’s perfect. The painting picks up the burgundy in the leather furniture. Now I’m looking through my newly purchased shirts and sweaters. For color apparel that matches the furniture and painting. I’m gonna become a dandy. Blending perfectly into the setting. –Jim Broede

The essence of salvation.

Sometimes, things just happen. Nice things. There’s a saying that ‘shit happens.’ But so do blessings. That’s how I’ve fallen in love. Twice in my life. It just happened. As if pre-destined. As if it was meant to be. Sure, there are things that happen that I wish didn’t happen. Such as my dear Jeanne dying. After 38 years of marriage. After a 13-year sojourn with Alzheimer’s. But life goes on. Something good comes of a grievous event in one’s life. Love crosses my path again. And I’m drawn to Italy. Where I’m gonna keep spending my winters. With my new true love. And she’ll spend her summers with me. In Minnesota. Yes, things happen. Sure, some bad things. But also many, many nice things. Blessings. That’s the way of life. Especially if one is able to fall in love. Maybe that’s the essence of salvation. Love. Pure love. –Jim Broede

Makes me inquisitive and personal.

I’m unusual. In that I’ll talk about almost anything. Even very personal stuff. Maybe because I am very personal. So I’m just being me. I like to get personal. With people. Even those who don’t wanna be personal. That doesn’t stop me. I’ll even get personal with strangers. Because that’s the way to get to know someone. I tend to like people who get personal. Sure beats being impersonal. I wasn’t always so personal. Maybe because I didn’t care that much about other people. Or maybe I was shy. And maybe I thought people were entitled to privacy. I suppose they are. But that doesn’t mean they have to take advantage of their entitlement. If they stay very private or totally private, I don’t have an opportunity to really get to know them. And I like to know people that I deal with or that I encounter on a fairly regular basis. I think that’s the right thing to do. At least it is for me. Makes me inquisitive. Or personal, one might say. –Jim Broede

By the way, his name is Ted.

The guy at the local bicycle shop has called me John. For a long time. I don’t see him all that often. But to him, I’ve been ‘John’ for years. But today I corrected him. Probably should have done it sooner. But really, it doesn’t make that much difference what I’m called. I don’t even mind a little bit of profanity aimed in my direction. Anyway, I didn’t know the name of the guy. Until today. I just didn’t use his name. Which may be just as bad as calling him by the wrong name. By the way, his name is Ted. –Jim Broede

We can't do everything.

Occasionally I stumble on someone on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Indeed, that’s a sad state of affairs. Usually, it’s because one feels overwhelmed. Often by too many responsibilities, too many demands. The best cure-all, I suppose, is to get away from it all. For an extended period of time. But I tell ‘em to start living moment to moment. Handle only one moment at a time. Don’t move on to the next moment until you’ve completed the present moment. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Eventually, one learns to live an hour at a time. Then two hours. And maybe even a day at a time. One has to slow down. Savor the moment. Savor life. Unfortunately, we humans tend to rush through life. We try to do too many things. Some of us even try to be all things to all people. Which is idiotic. Instead, we have to learn to pick and choose. To establish our priorities. Because we can’t do everything. –Jim Broede

I gotta have romantic thoughts.

I like to think that I control my thoughts. To a significant degree. On a daily basis. For instance, I just sat down. And decided to think romantic thoughts. Because that invariably puts me into a good frame of mind. Of course, I could make other choices. And think of something negative. Maybe something political. And I may choose to do that later today. But not for now. Because I want to get the day off to a good start. So I think of my true love. In Sardinia. And the fact that I’m gonna connect with her soon. On Skype, an audio-video hook up. One of the many technical wonders of the modern age. It’s like having her here. Sitting in my study. Or my living room. Or maybe I can think of it as me sitting in her study or living room. Conversing. As if we are together. The other day, we were connected for 3 hours and 27 minutes. Not always directly talking to each other. Because we were also doing things around our places. Taking phone calls. Doing a chore. Yes, more or less taking care of business. Sharing our days with each other. Some days we connect several times. We’re in daily touch. Always. I like that. I think it’s romantic. When we’re separated, I also write at least one love letter every night. So it’s there for the reading in the morning. When she gets up. Fact of the matter is that I’m a romantic idealist. Which means, I gotta have romantic thoughts. Usually morning, noon and night. –Jim Broede

A positive influence.

I call my sister at least once every several weeks. At the behest of my true love. I didn’t used to keep contact with my sister. Because I thought I had better things to do. But my true love prodded my conscience. Suggesting that it’s good to maintain family ties. So when I call my sister, I tell her I’m doing so, in large part, because my true love put me up to it. My true love says I shouldn’t tell my sister that. But still, I do. Because I like to be honest about it. Anyway, I think my true love has made a favorable impression on my sister. For having a positive influence on me. –Jim Broede