Many years ago, when I was in college in Philadelphia, I took a break from studying one afternoon and went shopping at Wanamaker's department store. While there I ran into our marching band director, a talented man who also directed several other musical groups on campus and also loved to cook. I remember he said to me, "When the going gets tough, the tough buy Cuisinarts."

Well I am not a cook. But after the emotionally exhausting experience of scaling the Great Wall of Postal Apathy to find the one person at the post office who was able to understand that the mail carrier was trying to deliver my package to the wrong address and that it contained medicine rather than something frivolous, I needed a giant dose of helpful people. So after work on Friday I went for the best kind of retail therapy. First I went to the Whole Foods near my office to stock up on yogurt. The cashiers there are always very friendly. Then I went to my LBS where I bought a clip-on fender for my mountain bike and a new Camelback bottle. I also enjoyed a nice chat with the owner. Then I went to the Container Store to look for a new tote bag or gear bag or something to keep my stash of extra jackets, tights and other layers for winter rides. For fall, winter and early spring rides I've been using a giant clear plastic bag to bring various extra clothes with me to the ride start so I can make last-minute additions or changes depending on weather conditions. But the bag is starting to tear and I would like to replace it with something more breathable. After wandering around the store several times and chatting with one of the friendly people working there, I chose a very large nylon tote bag
in a cheerful orange pattern. Then to make it easier to find small things like arm warmers and neck gaitors I chose a small nylon laundry bag from the travel section. I went with blue with orange polka dots for that. My plan is to keep the smaller bag inside the larger one. A more structured duffle bag with multiple sections would probably work a bit better but I really didn't want to spend that much money. And the colors of my new bags make me smile.

Dear Claude, I haven't seen you in decades but I hope you are doing well and enjoying a life full of music and good food. The way you arranged the songs we played taught me so much about music, the depth and layers and ways it could convey different meanings through something as simple as a tempo change. Thank you.