As I walked, my mood changed a couple of times.

Pacing along, I tried to make sense of the happenings in our world. There’s so much misery, hatred and incivility today — it hurts me to see, hear and read about it. My cloudy mood matched the dark sky, and then, it happened.

The sun appeared!

That shining sphere didn’t make all the dark side negatives disappear, but it did refocus me to the bright side. With the temperature in the low 20s, I felt better. I couldn’t stop walking, and as I rambled past the three-mile mark, things began to become more understandable — still not sensible — but a bit more understandable.

Post walk, I made myself a Black Russian, and I savored the neutral taste of the vodka blending sensibly with a nice coffee liqueur. It didn’t remove the craziness of today’s world, but it did remind me of the goodness surrounding us.

Recently there was a presentation at our local coffee shop by some local theater folks. They recited a condensed version of Mark Twain’s “Life on the Mississippi.” The readings began with Twain’s young years growing up along Old Man River, progressed to his years of being a captain of a river steamboat, to his becoming a journalist and finishing with his years as a writer. The final segment was when he returned to the river after almost thirty years, and noticing how everything was different. The cities had grown in size, the banks of the river had grown or eroded, there were farms where once there were open plains, and he was amazed how all these changes had caught his attention. He kept comparing the river to the river he knew as a boy.

During that final river voyage from New Orleans to St. Paul, he pined for the good old days and noticed the good things that had happened along the river. In spite of his longing for days gone by, he made sense of what was happening and how it would be good for the river.

I loved the program! The actors were extremely talented, and I sensed in today’s world what Twain went through on his boat trip. Things change — there’s always going to be struggle, but we should always seek the sensible sunshine.

After the program, I poured a glass of Whiskers Blake Classic Tawny Port. It was so delicious,satisfying and comforting. In the midst of craziness, one must seek to make sense of it and move forward. The sweet nutty flavor of the port will not let you forget the importance of standing up for what’s right.

This writing will be shorter than most others — I need to pour a glass of Argentinian Alma Mora Malbec now and just chill out. I’ll always enjoy a Malbec — it just makes good plain sense to me.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!