Back In the Cold

Over all I had a great time in Puerto Rico. My primary activities were reading on the beach and playing blackjack. I managed to make it to the gym a few times and took a hike through El Yunque (I was the only member of my tour to brave swimming the pools and waterfalls). I went out to dinner with random people I met along the way. A few days in, I booked a massage and scrub with the resort spa. When the therapist came to get me from the waiting room, I was immediately disappointed. She was older and slight. I like a strong massage and I couldn't imagine this tiny woman had it in her to work my muscles the way I like them done. Turns out she's been doing massage for thirty years and she was amazing. Possibly among the best I've ever had. Something odd happened during the massage though. Out of absolutely nowhere I started thinking about my father. It had been over a year since we last spoke and several years since I've seen him. I thought about how this vacation had the fingerprints of his taste all over it. Both of my parents, really. I thought about how my mom would take me on vacations like this and I decided to call him and depending on how the conversation went, invite him down to join me. The conversation went well enough. But he is just a shell of the man I knew growing up. I offered him a fully paid vacation including a gambling stake and he turned me down. He couldn't be bothered to travel.

I'm back in NYC just for a day, then it's off to the Hamptons tomorrow morning.