kindness of strangers

I was very depressed yesterday, I think feelings stirred up by the question of whether we should be looking at still better schools for my daughter. If we go up another level we would be talking about Concord Academy, where I went as a day student, or someplace like Andover or Exeter or St. Paul's. When I was in college I didn't want to be associated with the preppies and I used to think I wasn't the worst kind of preppie, at least I didn't go to Andover or Exeter. But my daughter wants to go to a school where she won't be the smartest kid in her classes or the only one who likes to read and talk about ideas.

I swam yesterday morning and that helped my depression a little, and then took a bike ride in the afternoon and that helped more. I didn't have the heart to ride very fast, but when I reached the point where the ride turned back towards home I discovered it was very windy, I just hadn't noticed because the wind was at my back. So I got a good workout despite myself. This morning I slept through my alarm but decided to go ahead to the sunrise service even though I was going to be half an hour late, because I do like the Great Vigil of Easter. I got there just in time for the Easter Acclamation. After church and breakfast I headed out for a bike ride, on a route I haven't ridden in months. I got hungrier and hungrier and I decided to stop and get some real food when I went through the town of Central after about 28 miles.

I went into Panchos and ordered three chicken tacos to go. There are some benches outside and the weather was beautiful--I was happy to sit outside and eat. The manager who took my money told me it I should sit down and eat, it was better for me. I said I didn't think I was in proper condition to sit down in a restaurant after riding 30 miles. He said no, no, it was fine, sit down and he would get me some chips. So I sat and enjoyed a quick lunch. I had 5 more miles to ride home with two tough hills, but the first couple of miles of that is mostly down hill, the tough hills are in the last three miles.