"The Door Into Summer"

When I was a teenager I read a lot of science fiction, one of my favorite authors was Robert Heinlein, and one of my favorite books was The Door Into Summer. On the first page the principal character describes a year he spent living in a farmhouse in Connecticut that had 11 doors, plus a pet door fitted into a window for his cat, Petronius the Arbiter.

"Pete usually used his own door except when he could bully me into opening a people door for him, which he preferred. But he would not use his door when there was snow on the ground. Connecticut winters are only good for Christmas cards; regularly that winter Pete would check his own door, refuse to go out of it because of  that unpleasant white stuff beyond it (he was no fool), then badger me to open a people door. He had a fixed conviction that at least one of them must lead into summer weather. Each time this meant that I had to go around with him to each of eleven doors, hold it open while he satisfied himself that it was winter out that way too, then go on to the next door, while his criticisms of my mismanagement grew more bitter with each disappointment. But he never gave up his search for the Door Into Summer."

I arrived in Palm Springs 5 weeks ago. From the moment I arrived Beth has done everything she possibly could to welcome me and make me feel at home. She stressed repeatedly that I had the run of the place, that everything in the fridge and cupboards was mine, took me on a tour of all the facilities in the complex, the pool, the hot tub, the gym, took me around the neighborhood showing me the local bars, where the grocery store, the liquor store, and beer store were (It's all the same place actually, Ralph's grocery store - Vodka 30% off if you buy 6!). I have never stayed anywhere, either for a single night, a week, or a month, with anyone, where I have felt so comfortable and at home. Beth is in the hospitality business, and she lives it, she doesn't just pay it lip service. She even swapped her own bed for the futon that had been in the spare room, insisting that she couldn't let "the broken guy" sleep on it.

It's now time to leave. I've made one last high speed run through the hills to Idyllwild for one last cup of coffee at the Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, and spent a final afternoon lounging about the pool. Thank you Beth, for your hospitality and company over the last 5 weeks. I've found my Door Into Summer, and I will be forever grateful to you for sharing it with me. As you predicted, we repeatedly "Got up to no good!"

Tennessee Williams said "There is a time for departure, even when there is no certain place to go." Tuesday morning is my time for departure, though I know not where I shall go. Beth is gone for the next week on a business/skiing trip, and I type this sitting on the patio by the pool, watching people come and go from the hot tub. The car is loaded, the bike is loaded, and now I'm getting loaded. You can get a bottle of J. LOHR Seven Oaks for a ridiculously cheap price in this state, and it's been established on many occasions that I'm a terrible impulse shopper. I'm doing dinner with Lyal and Cathy in Eloy tomorrow night, but after that the plan gets pretty vague. I'm thinking I'll head east to find a good beach to play with the kite I brought and work on my tan. I only have one one appointment in the next month, and that is to pass through Orlando airport in exactly 2 weeks. "There's this girl......."