Yesterday was a horrible, no-good, very hard, tiring, difficult day, full of stones but with one sparkling diamond.

Diamond first: my older son dropped in with a couple of things I needed and stayed for coffee and talked. That was rare and delightful. (I looked up synonyms, but delightful is best, and accurate).

The rest of the day went downhill from there. But I talked to a number of people and that's always interesting. I love to know what people are reading, That's always good. The events of the day elicit interesting attitudes, also prejudices. I sat for some time, over an hour, needlessly. (I could have been put in a different category.) I noted, as usual, how patient and polite people are in - maybe especially in - flocks. I got lost, as usual, finding my way to a new destination, by subway. Only one person snarled at me for sitting beside her and I apologized. On the other hand, another one shared her seat (I like to go forward), and we talked about what she was reading (Cormac McCarthy, "The Road".) As usual, most people are very helpful. I'm glad most of us speak the same language so I can communicate my bewilderment and receive some useful information. And say thank you.

But I'm still tired.