Sunday on the island

More stream of consciousness happenings in Paradise City and my little piece of paradise:

• Saint Patrick's Day madness has gripped the town this weekend.  It all started on Friday with a continuous party going through Saturday. Peace has returned to the land and the villagers are happy once again. The streets are now clear of drunken partiers.  The drunken crackers, drag strip officials, NASCAR losers, vacant fratboys, vapid sorority chicks, dudes that have a Budweiser as an appendage, and loutish jerks are now a thing of the immediate past.  This town isn't as crazy as Savannah, but the streets still smell like a frat house after a wild beer bash.  I was glad to get away from the city yesterday and head back to the sublime silence of the island, punctuated only by the sound of waves breaking on the sandbars and birds singing and performing their morning concert. 
  
• The blue glow of the moon has ushered in a new day that promises to be beautiful and peaceful. The seabirds fly in the sea breeze and dolphins cruise just beyond the breakers that gently lap the shore. There is a hint of rain coming. Today will be an inside day to work on furniture in the workshop. And at noon, I am meeting an old friend from college that I haven't seen in many years. We are going to catch up on life. 
  
• Two of our dogs, Deacon and Tobias, decided to take off around 11 PM on Wednesday night.  He and the rest of the dogs were out for their evening pee. The rascals must have gotten scent of something so they decided to head down the drive.  We live a mile down a dirt road--lots of things to smell.  So C. and I drove the road calling for him until 2 AM.  I found Tobias walking along, looking sheepish.  But no Deacon.  Early on Thursday morning, we put flyers in mailboxes in the area, called people, put up a large sign on the front fence and drove the roads every couple of hours.  I think that we both gave up by Friday morning. We knew that it was going to be a body recovery, looking for buzzards in the sky to give us a clue.  Our hearts were leaden. Neither of us could eat much.  I thought--here we go again with death and grief.  On Friday night around 10:30 PM, we got a call from a neighbor at a nearby plantation telling me that she thought she had our dog. I had called them on Thursday, and they kept the information.  Evidently, Deacon had followed their beagle Woody through the short cut wooded trail to their plantation.  He was happy relaxing with Woody in their house when we got there.  None the worse for wear, we hugged Deacon and the good people who took him in and called us.  Extra precautions are being made to make sure that Deacon and Tobias don't go out for their evening walk without a leash on.  After getting the wayward boy home, we slept soundly for the first time in a couple of days.  
  
• The anniversary of my father's death passed without sadness. I thought of him many times that day. Now, I am concerned about my first sponsor who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. I am hoping that it can be treated. More will be revealed for him. For now, he is accepting of the diagnosis. 
• At the District Al-Anon meeting yesterday, I volunteered to do additional service work for the District.  I was really motivated by a speaker at the convention who was inspirational in what she does. After the meeting, a group of us went out to lunch.  It was great fun to have a meeting after the meeting and enjoy some great discussions.  
• Friday is my wife's birthday.  We are going out to a play on Thursday evening.  Friday we leave for a cruise up the waterway to another favorite anchorage.  Some other boats will be joining us there. 

Hope that you are enjoying your Sunday.