They asked what we're doing these days. Sandra, we said, is working part-time at son Mike's business and having a very good time. When it was my turn, I mentioned that I was writing for a few tech websites, teaching a bit, and picking up IT and web support work as it came along. It sounds like a lot, but added it still doesn't reach half-time.
How I do this work, it turned out, was more interesting. I mentioned that I'd never met my bosses and likely never would. I've known nne of my colleagues, an editor for one of the sites, for 30 years. I last saw him last summer at his mother's funeral in Maine. The previous time was two or so years before that and then several years beyond. It's doubtful that I'll meet the other writers in person, except by chance. For another project in Worcester, I see the project manager perhaps once every two months.
I do leave the house a few times a week
. Rocco starts to get excited when I put on my going-out-of-the-house pants because it means a) he'd going for a ride or b) he's going to be left alone for a while. If I take my brief case, his spirit dims because it's much more likely that I'll be out for a while and he won't be going.When I am away from the house, my office is wherever I am. On Friday, I met a friend and former co-worker at Panera Bread in Leominster. Another friend and former co-worker claims that this Panera is like 5th Avenue and 57th Street in New York -- spend any time there and you'll see someone you know. She told me this when I saw her by chance at this Panera on Friday where she was having coffee with another friend from Holden. A half hour later, our next-door neighbor came in for lunch with her co-workers.
