Feeling sad

I took Ransom to the airport today — for the first time in nineteen months! So I am sad. I certainly would not have wished the pandemic on the world, but it did keep us together, 24/7, for over a year and a half. It was on February 5, 2020, that I drove Ransom to Hartford so he could fly out here for a Redlands Symphony gig. He came back on the 17th and we flew together to Alabama for his performance with the Tuscaloosa Symphony. No travel since then, none. Of course many people can tell the same story, but you have to understand how rare that is for us. For thirty-five years Ransom has traveled every month to a concert or recording or teaching gig somewhere. For the first fifteen years or so he would occasionally be gone six weeks at a time. The schedule eased up a bit over time, but there has never been nineteen months without travel — not even close.

The remarkable thing is we got through it all and even thrived. Yeah, there were spats and harsh words now and then, but our relationship is stronger than ever and that's why I miss him. The dogs miss him too.

But there's also good news about his travel: it took me four minutes to get him to the airport. I am not kidding or exaggerating: 4 minutes! Palm Springs is a small town; I'm guessing nothing is further than fifteen minutes away and the airport just happens to be on this side of town. Not too close to be a noise problem; just close enough to get there quickly. And this is the first time that's ever been true. In the city, in the Catskills, in Connecticut airport-transport was always an hour.

There's not much other news to report. We're in a holding pattern as the last of the paperwork for our loan gets sorted out; we're scheduled to close as soon as Ransom gets back next week, but we won't take possession til Oct 10 or so. Then it'll be a rush to get the new tile and bathrooms done and to schedule the furniture delivery from storage once the work is finished. We've extended our lease on this rental, so we have until Nov 14 to move out and in. With any luck we'll be cooking a Thanksgiving turkey in our new home. Anyone want to join us?

Finally, I want to start sharing some of what our life looks like here in Palm Springs. It won't be great because an iPhone just doesn't capture the vastness that is the California desert, but I'll give it a try. First then, a shot of some typical landscaping one sees all over. There's very little grass, but lots of plant life growing through the ubiquitous rocks and pebbles. The shot is taken at the entrance to our community.