Today I rose early – 4am. Made some strong and very tasty coffee and toasted a slice of whole wheat bread. To the latter I added a little jam as a reward for getting up before dawn made her appearance. Then I sat quietly for 45 minutes and tried not to think about the state of the world, unsuccessfully. Around 4:55 am, jumped into my car and drove off to my 5:15am spin class.

There, a youngish woman with lots of energy lead what is mainly an over the hill gang in frenetic peddling for 45 minutes. Today, we warmed up to Tom Petty’s “You don’t know how it feels” and cooled down to Barry White’s “Can’t get enough of you love baby.” I quietly sang along to both.

After cleaning my bike, I drove home on the still dark streets of Kingston. At home I made another pot of coffee, woke up my wife and dog, and drank one more cup even though a mini nap awaited me. All and all, a good start to what looks like a beautiful late fall day.