I stopped by my eye doctor’s office to get my glasses adjusted. Then I went to Publix. There I ran into my writer friend, Mary Anne Edwards. We visited and I found out her mother had died, but she herself is cancer-free! We chatted about book publishing, both of us have a fourth book written. She is about to publish hers. I told her mine was in the “Maybe Later” file for now.

Then one of my favorite checkers, a black actor named Andre, signaled me over to his line to checkout. He said and I quote, “Your energy drew me!” He is fabulously good-looking and very kind to boot. While we chatted, a young man was bagging as fast as Andre was talking and checking.

As he pushed my buggy to the car, I asked where he was from. “From Kenya,” he said. His name is Collins and he has been in the states for “One year and 28 days.” I asked if he liked it here. He said he did, but he was homesick.

“This is a great place to work,” I said, “The people here are very nice.” I told Andre my story about taking it to the streets and he loved hearing it. Then we talked carrot cake and how much we loved icing (frosting). The cake is just there for the icing, as far as I’m concerned.

And that is my update so far. I feel happy. I feel grateful. And I look forward to the rest of the day.

Vicki Woodyard