Tom's Diary

Dear   [Lynn],

Actually, I played the trombone for several years in grade school, along with the piano. In fact, lately, I’ve toyed with the idea of buying a high-end electronic keyboard. I was taking lessons about 5 years ago and really enjoyed them. However, the teacher married and moved away, and work got real busy around then.  So I wasn’t motivated to find another instructor. But one day I’ll pick it up again.

I enjoy many activities, including . . .

• Water skiing,
• Parachuting in a wind tunnel,
• Vacationing and camping in the mountains,
• Visiting my Mom and siblings (going there for the wedding next weekend in fact),
• Browsing through unabridged dictionaries,
• Taking day-long hikes around the city here and along wooded trails in the country,
• Hanging out on the beach,
• Eating out with friends,
• Sled riding and going on hay rides in the fall,
• Strolling around the malls,
• Taking day long train rides to Pittsburgh,
• Listening to pop music and watching pop movies,  
• taking pictures with my digital camera,
• Swimming,
• Boating,
• League bowling,
• Playing pool,
• Chatting on the phone,
• Flying (next trip is to Dayton, Ohio on Dec. 29th),
• Searching for my soul mate. 

There. How’s that for a start?

Tom Hesley

Dear  [Lynn],

Nope, not amazon.com. I’m talking a real, live bookstore that you can visit that has the aisles and aromas. These are the originals. Nothing virtual about them. You know, the ones that have stacks of free newspapers and publications for the taking near the entrance. You can pick up any book and it smells so new, that you’d swear that if you touched the print, you’d smear the ink as it might still be moist. The shelves run from the floors to the ceilings. And the rows seem to go off into infinity if you look toward the back of the stores from the front. There’s the café’ and stage area on the second floor, where authors come to speak and perform. Last week, this petite young lady entertained the crowd with her guitar, singing songs she wrote about her travels out west. Kind of reminded me of Melanie – remember Melanie? She sang that “I got a brand new pair of roller skates. You got a brand new key.” song back in the early 70s. This lady had the audience in stitches and she did it all with her lyrics. Real book stores also have singles nights and poetry readings, and offer quite a tasty cuisine.

In downtown Philly, you can find a Borders, Barnes and Noble, Tower Books, and probably a few smaller ones that I’ve not visited yet. They even have this store at 17th and Market Sts. that sells nothing but maps, globes, travel guides, and aids. Also, at Neshaminy and Oxford Valley Malls, WaldenBooks and B. Dalton Booksellers can be found. I’ve spent many hours in each and every one.

Other things later.
Tom Hesley

Dear   [Lynn],

I considered the possibility that my cousin’s union will not be permanent – sign of the times, right? That we have to think of the negative possibilities and that marriages usually aren’t forever these days. So, I got neither the clock, nor the picture frame. Instead, I went totally off the board, and bought them each their own photo album. The front and back pieces are made of (what appears to be) mahogany, and they have pewter trim on the front. Then, I had each name engraved on the face plate, in an old English style font. These look great as a pair, but also work well separately. Just the thing should they split up at some point. They’ll each have their own. More later.

Tom Hesley

Dear   [Lynn],

Sounds like your kitchen smells very nice each morning, with those coffee aromas wafting about.

On the excuse of needing more coffee to end a letter: *smile*

I used to be a big coffee and pop drinker (Do they call a soft drink a soda, a pop, or a soda pop in your area?). But I had trouble sleeping at night also, and so gave it up about 12 years ago.

Caffeine is probably the single worst widely available assault we can make on our body rhythms. My mother drinks lots of diet Pepsi and then wonders why she can’t sleep at night and can only stay half awake during the day. Also, there’ve been numerous reports about how so many people are falling asleep while driving these days. I suspect that caffeine (or, more precisely, the excess consumption of caffeine) is largely responsible for these snoozing road warriors.

Admittedly, immediately after consumption, there is a lift of mental energies. But in me at least, that goes away in an hour or less, and I am worse off then, than had I not consumed it at all. But hey, everybody’s body chemistry is different. Mine just happens to hate too much caffeine. Some I know can drink a ton of it, and still sleep like babies after feeding. To each his own, right?

Well, I really must get going this time. Talk to you soon.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Abstaining from Caffeine
• Caffeine Headaches

It’s about 8:30 on Saturday morning here in Philly. Just sitting here, planning out my day. My cousin is getting married next weekend. And so, I’ll be going to one of the malls later to find he and his bride a gift. Already have it narrowed down to two ideas. It will either be a pewter picture frame that has the text from their wedding invitation engraved on the front, or a fancy pendulum clock. Will probably end up going with the clock. We’ll see.

Yes, I feel that the time one spends socializing with friends and lovers must be balanced. Like you, I would need space also, for those outside-the-relationship activities. Software engineering requires lots of study time beyond the normal work day hours, just to keep up with the ever changing technology. Therefore, I usually spend two additional hours each day, just reading and playing on the computer. Plus, I enjoy dining with friends a couple times a week, browsing in the book shops and libraries, and spending some time alone, thinking and introspecting. Ideally, I’d like to spend two to three evenings with my special romantic friend, spend one or two nights with her each week, and talk for at least a few minutes every day on the phone. I am flexible on this however. Some weeks, more time would be spent together, while in others less would be. But yes, folks should avoid totally giving up their ‘single’ activities as you call them, even when they’re not single anymore.

More later,
Tom Hesley