The Day Men

They knew what was expected of them as soon as they opened their eyes. It was just a matter of starting up the nervous sytem and entering one end of the unknown, and with patience. passing the hours of the day avoiding the traps that everyday situations offer, while overnight dreaming of impossible situations.

Dreams are not occupied by the dreamer. They open up randomness beyond knowledge. Dreams are slippery and there is no telling how far the fall will be or what is at the end, if there is end. Daily routines offer stop and go warnings

Jim woke up having taken two sleeping pills and consequently sleeping later than he intended. It would mean leaving later than he had planned, making him late for his 20th high school reunion. His landlord always prepared his coffee cup - white paper filter, and two measure of fine ground coffee. For his part, all he had to do was boil the water and remember to thank Ted. Simple. Why Ted did this every weekend did not rise to Jim's conciousness since it begn after he returned from an abortred employment adventure to California.

Jim was sitting at at the small white formica table reading a weekly news magazine. Self-criticism and action were not Jim's strengths, although he could pin point his faults with regular accuracy.he seemed to stare into his shortcoming like specimins or an artifact at the bottom of a display case.

Ted appeared in his summer bathrobe, hair disarranged .It was longer than Jim had ever seen it grow. Ted said nothing and turned to look at Jim's english muffins in the toaster as he filled up the electric kettle for tea. Jim had already made his coffee and it sat on the white table in an odd juxtaposition for drinking. The muffins were finished toasting and Ted observed in a dignified voice, "your mufins, sir!" Jim rose and said, I'll get "em" adding "obviously" as he stood up without really speaking to anyone.He did not butter his muffins. Ted did not comment.

Jim ate his dry muffins and Ted left the kitchen and returned later to wash his cup. As Ted was leaving he turned to Jim to ask him to shut up the house if he decided to go to his reunion. Jim took the oppotunity to say. "It's a good thing you didn't see me all week until today. My boss was on the war path all week. He complained about everyone's work all day long. He really was wrong most of the time."

Ted commented that bosses sometimes assert themselves just to show who is boss. Jim looked qt Ted with recognition thqt something true had been spoken. Jim then revealed that his sister was pregnant. 'The guy wants to marry her, but she doesn't seem to care." Ted remained circumspectfully silent.

Jerry woke up and thought about his trip to Maine. He had not had a vacation in over a year. He wasn't sure this would be a vacation, but he had to check on his house located on an island he owned. It had been a challenge ten years a go to take an old camp and rehabilitate one summer while reading all of Norman Mailer's novels and several other authors. He would work an hour and read an hour. It was a rythm he really loved. He needed to see results. Now he was busy as a curator in an old house and really too busy to spend summers in Maine. He also did not look forward to the new houses built along the coast opposite his private island.

Finding docents for the week he would be away had been accomplished and he was confident in his assistant who would run the operation in his absence. A new 27 pound cat he had adopted was complicating matters, but everyone was so pleased with this addition to the museum he counted it as a success.

Arranging volunteer docents schedules required tact and patience. Jerry's live and let live view seemed to provide all the help and new opportunities he could manage.
Acceptance of things as they are had worked for him ever since his divorce.