Hold on John, John hold on, it's gonna be alirght

As far as Mondays go, this one wasn't so bad. I did, however, have to fend off the tendrils of despair that whisper and undulate in my mind these days, faint but present. Most of it is grounded in reality, but still, I can't and haven't let it overwhelm me.

My parent's arrived at my place early yesterday morning and we made the trek into Boston to find the court house my mother will be serving jury duty at. My dad drove, I rode shot gun, and my mother sat in the back. I expected her to be more audibly anxious than she was. Even when my father took the wrong exit and we ended up driving through the city for a bit before we got back on the highway, she was fairly composed. I was impressed.

The courthouse was easy to find, right on the harbor and outside the city proper. My mother took solace in this and by the time we arrived back to Somerville, she was in good spirits. We went in to Davis Square for breakfast at Mr. Crepes and as we ate, I told my mother I was impressed with her composure during the trip.

"I had my eyes closed the entire time", she said.

"Ah, that explains it."

I'm not sure if that's progress or not, but I'll take it.

Speaking of my mother, there wasn't any fallout from the birthday incident. I ended getting her a nice, burgundy-tinted, hanging lantern for their porch. It matches the decor, too, which is not too shabby coming from a straight guy with a rudimentary sense of interior design.

So, here's the deal. Father's Day is coming up and if I forget this occasion, too, I'll definitely be in the running for worst son of the year. As an act of charity, dear readers, please feel free to remind me.

I've been thoroughly engrossed in The King of Elfland's Daughter. I lack the vocabulary to describe how enchanting this tale is. Reading from it is like seeing the world as a three year old again. I'm not suggesting the story is fit for a three year old, but the dreaminess of it just brings me back to that time. Anyway, enough trying to explain something I said from the outset I wouldn't be able to. It's enough for me to say I love this book and the warm, deep, spell it casts.

Great Celtics game last night. Kobe dumped 38 on us, but we still won. One more game to win and the C's are champs. I think they can do it.

I felt the urge to go for a long walk yesterday, so in the afternoon I hit the bike path and walked all the way into Arlington center. I traversed three cities: Somerville, Cambridge, and the aforementioned Arlington. I walked briskly and only stopped once to hang out at the shore of a pond for a few minutes. When I reached Arlington center, I looked at my pedometer and was surprised to learn I'd only traveled a little over three miles. I thought I had traveled double that distance. Still, it was a great walk. I plan on doing it again, only next time I'll go through Arlington and into Lexington, where I'll step off the path onto my grandmother's back yard and pay her a visit. Should be fun.

And you know what else should be fun? Some more World Cup soccer. I'm off to see if there's a game playing. I was going to share an interesting plot line in my life that could get a little sticky, but I'm going to see how things develop first. Stay tuned.