Work Stress More Stress More Work Rain and Remembering

Is it clear from the title of this post that I've been "busy" at work lately?  To clear my brain, I turn to our wonderful little local weekly paper, The Free Press, to see what other people nearby are up to in their lives.  Here's a selection from last weekend, I think:

Perennial & Herb Swap, 9-10 a.m., Spectrum Generations Coastal Community Center, 521 Main St., Damariscotta. Bring a perennial for the Center's beds. Annuals and vegetable seedlings also welcome. If you don't have plants to swap, you can buy them for $2-$6.

• Death Cafe Damariscotta, 9-10:30 a.m., Savory Maine, 11 Water St. The open group is a safe place to have a lively conversation about death. Reservations: 633-4432.

• Antique Autos at Matthews Museum, 9 a.m.-noon, Union Fairgrounds. Dozens of antique cars will be on display. With free Moxie samples. Museum admission reduced to $3 for the day.

• Henry Knox Reading Circle to Meet, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Cole House next to Montpelier Mansion, Thomaston. The book is "American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown, 1781-1783" by William M. Fowler Jr. All are welcome.

• "Retrain Your Brain to Form Healthy Habits Through Yoga and Meditation," noon. Tammy Lee gives the presentation at Camden Library, as part of its Wellness Brown Bag Lunch series.

As usual, the above is a random selection of events listed here just as they appear in the paper.  There does seem to be something for everyone.  However, one particular event that caught my eye is apparently happening today.  Too bad about work stress work more work more stress - I guess I'll be missing:

"Sugar, Sex, and Poison: Shocking Plant Secrets Caught on Camera," 1 p.m., St. Andrews Village, Boothbay Harbor. Bill Cullina, executive director of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, gives the talk. Free, but space is limited, so save your seat: 633-0920.

Would you call that "Plant Porn" or maybe "Plant Punk"?  Who knew?

From the ridiculous to the only too real - today  what I really want to do is remember Danny Friedman in my mind and my heart.  I look across the room from where I sit typing this and see the banjo he gifted David with - that I think possibly may have changed David's life.  He plays it every day.  He "played" banjo before Danny's banjo, but since has been "serious" about it (or at least as serious as a banjo player can be - banjos just make you smile!)  More than that, Danny gave a gift of friendship and trust and belief in David's commitment to music that made (and still makes) David glow. I think of how my own life was touched by Danny - the first person in Connecticut to welcome me, take me home to Susan and her Shabbat dinner, make me part of the family whose friendship sheltered me in difficult days, laughed with me and still reaches out to me.  Danny, may his memory continue to bless David, me and most of all, his family who must miss him so.  

Peace upon Danny's soul, and peace upon all of us who cling to this planet and hurtle through space into an unknown future.