November 10, 2019. Madison, Mississippi. Switching Horses.

My friend Eleanor picked me up at 3:00. She invited me to attend an art show, to be held at the home of an artist friend. Another artist from New Orleans had come to bring his latest paintings. The home is full of wonderful art. I remembered attending a similar event several years ago so I was happy to attend. The day was glorious and we enjoyed the drive to the house, which was just about ten minutes north of my home. When we arrived we noticed that only one car was in the driveway. Eleanor commented that the show is not over run with people. We rang the bell. Rather than her old friend greeting Eleanor effusively at the door, a little lady opened the door about a crack. Eleanor did not know the lady. Despite the dour look on the ladies face, Eleanor said cheerfully that we were here for the art show. The lady said only one sentence. Then closed the door. "The show was yesterday,"she said. We were bummed. We were so taken aback that we did not ask if friend Roy was at home. Both of us were struck dumb. But we had a lovely afternoon anyway. We drove home to my house and drank a cup of herbal tea, all the time overlooking the reservoir. Eleanor is a busy lady and for her to have 75 minutes of interrupted conversation was a treat, and for me. We talked about Mississippi and the history and culture. We talked about family. We just had a good old time together. So even though we missed the art show, we switched horses in mid stream and spent a delightful chat, which we would never have been able to do if we had visited the show. Some times you just get lucky.