All you need is love, some famous songsters once observed. And by the end of this day, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been out of sorts since the a.m. Everything seems hard. Exercise, cleaning up my office. Everything. And then Jane and I have a brief cuddle in the afternoon, some hugging time between her church newsletter and my untended emails. And this makes all the difference.

Thank God I have this option, this relationship. As for the rest of the day….

What is so difficult about cleaning up my desk? It’s a world of delayed decisions. Am I going to give to the California State Parks Foundation? Or not. What do I do with this catalog full of disabled gear? “Leaving it on my desk” is a very bad idea, trust me. This morning I discovered a series of wonderful things, little treasures, some of them dating from the Carter Administration, lurking on the back of my work surface. And a wonderful file, crafted by one of my many assistants, titled “Action Items.” Very catchy. The contents, nothing more recent than November of last year, included bills to be paid and correspondence, people awaiting a word from me, vis-à-vis, the U.S. Postal Service. It’s worth their wait, I am thinking.

In the early 1980s, one of the account executives at the big PR firm where I worked returned from a meeting at Intel. He was much impressed, this guy, by the lingo used at the semiconductor manufacturer. “Action item” made a particular impression. Of course, he started using it around the PR offices. Then everyone used it. And it’s stuck in my brain to this day. Action, indeed.

And 30 years later, damned if I’m not preparing to attend a reunion of the PR company. Why? Because I made great friends there. That simple. Yes, I will have to endure an evening of Great Moments in Technology and How We Made Them Happen. But, what the hell.

It’s the 50th reunion of the Banning Union High School Class of 1964 – but only on paper. No one is recognizing this event. I have scoured the web, believe me. One possibility – too many of us have died. There are many other conceivable reasons, of course. Still, it’s a landmark. It’s my mark. So, yes, I’m going to the PR reunion.

That and meeting up with old friends like Bob Ploss, Bruce Rosen and others – at least I plan to do this. Details not arranged. Their high school in Berkeley is having a reunion, so they will all be around. I hope to see them one afternoon, probably a Sunday in September. Fortunately, I am back on the road again, my Dodge van surging. And there’s that other reunion, the one that happens every year in Minnesota. Of course, I’m heading there too. The Minnesota Men’s Conference, probably without Robert Bly this year. And let’s not forget my own miniature family reunion in Todenham, Gloucestershire and London. That starts next week.

And the point to all this? Hugs.