The Thinker is thinking thoughts today, and so am I

It is supper time, and I haven't yet posted my thoughts for today.  The Thinker is reminding me to share some thoughts.  Okay.  Sue and I planned to have lunch together, but I decided to go down to our Circle@Crown Cafe early to have my breakfast when they opened at 8:00 a.m.

Alice McC. joined me at my table.  When Sandy M. showed up, I invited her to sit with us because today's her birthday.  Sue arrive a little before 11:00, as she had planned to do, and joined those of us already sitting there.

When I got a call from Sandra H. asking if I'd like to meet her in the Cafe (she lives in the neighborhood near here), I told her I was already in the Cafe, so come join us.  She was coming to the Crown Center for a program that met at 1:00, but she had time to eat with us before it started.

So my friends from here and there just came and went all morning, and I ended up being in the Cafe with various people as they met each other and left for their own activities.  Do you wonder how long I was in the Cafe?  From 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. as those folks chatted and ate together.

When I finally headed home, after walking around the block (going the long way home to get in my steps, in other words), I ran into Dora H. sitting in the lobby and sat down to talk to her awhile.  Other friends stopped to speak to us as they passed by us, like Alyssa with her dog Hazel, and Betty B. who sat down to talk.

I think I got in a good day's worth of socializing:  Alice, Sandy, Sue, Sandra, Dora, Alyssa, Hazel (yes, dogs count), and Betty.  And these don't count the ones we said hello to as they came and went through the lobby.

Reflecting on our Café Conversations

On Monday, I had an annual doctor's appointment.  No big deal, but it takes up time in the middle of the day.  On Tuesday, however, I had invited about 20 people to come to the second meeting of Café Conversations.  A few told me ahead of time that:

• they had other plans or doctor appointments.
• she would be out of town.
• she would put it on her calendar.
• she would be delivering meals at that time.
• she would see me Tuesday, followed later by "oops, can't come."
• she "was assisting a friend in Hospice."
• another said, "Maybe." 
• one said simply, "Thank you" with a smiley face.

Most, however, never replied one way or the other.  So I had no idea how many people would be there or how many tables of people we might fill.  At our mid-August gathering, we had squeezed seven of us around one big table.

Well, here's my report about this month.  See that photo at the top?  We had only five of us on Tuesday, so we moved to one side to let Andrew take this photo of us, sitting over in our corner of the Café:  Myrna, Betty, Bev, Bonnie, and Sue.  We talked a couple of hours.  Risé had desk duty and had to miss it this time.  We are still trying to find the best day and time to have our Café Conversations.

Thoughts about a book and a debate

All in the Family: The Trumps and How We Got This Way ~ by Fred C. Trump III, 2024, memoir/biography, 352 pages

With revealing, never-before-told stories, Fred C. Trump III, nephew of President Donald Trump, breaks his decades-long silence in this honest memoir and sheds a whole new light on the family name.

For the record, Fred Trump never asked for any of this.  The divisive politics.  The endless headlines.  A hijacked last name.  The heat-seeking uncle, rising from real estate scion to gossip column fixture to The Apprentice host to President of the United States.  Fred just wanted a happy life and a satisfying career.  But a fight for his son’s health and safety forced him onto a center stage that he had never wanted.  And now, at a crucial point for our nation, he is stepping forward again.

In this book, Fred delves into his journey to become a "different kind of Trump," detailing his passionate battle to protect his wife and children from forces inside and outside the family.  From the Trump house to the White House, Fred comes to terms with his own complex legacy and faces some demons head-on.  It’s a story of power, love, money, cruelty, and the unshakable bonds of family, played out underneath a glaring media spotlight.  All in the Family is the inside story, as it’s never been told before.

I loved the look on Kamala's face during the debate on Tuesday, especially after one of Trump's claims.  Fact check:  "There is no state in this country where it’s legal to kill a baby after it’s born."  Wow, that statement floored me!

The next day, a friend met me for lunch in the Café and let me borrow Fred Trump's book (above) that she had gotten from the library and had already finished reading.  I have two weeks to read it before the due date.  She says that it's a quick read.

Is it hot enough for you?

The Washington Post reported that scientists say we are living through earth's hottest month on record.  I read that the heat wave has put over half of U.S. population under heat alerts  The heat seems to be all that's on people's minds right now.

My friend Nancy called from Pennsylvania, and we talked for at least an hour and a half, until I had to leave to hurry to a music program I'd signed up for.  I lived with Nancy and her husband and their children for part of the time we were studying for our Master's degrees at Emory University (on the right), so our friendship goes back to the 1980s, almost four decades now.

Earlier that day, I had lunch in the Café with my friend Sue, who is also Clawdia's friend.  I shared three DASH Diet books with her.

Happy Birthday, Sue

Yesterday was Sue's birthday, and here are some of us who sang the happy birthday to her in our Circle@Crown Café.  Shannon is on the left, Sue is in the middle, and Sandy is on the right.  Maybe next year we can include Judy, Sue's twin sister, in the festivities.