Have an excellent day!

Up early this morning for a swim, Catherine’s idea but remarkably pleasant in the warm outdoor pool. Everybody here is breathing a sigh of relief as thunderstorms and tornados pass just south of Michigan. Natural disaster is a fact of life here and something which we are a little cushioned from in Britain I think. Community resilience is a big deal in the States, you’re kind of on your own as a community or at least you are expected to sort yourself out for a good few days. The same attitude goes for those who get in trouble in other ways, if your finances crack it doesn’t take long before you are dependent on the church mostly for food and a roof over your head.
It’s funny because in other ways you are well looked after here… On our way back from the pool we are offered a brown paper bag. The sign says:”Your mom always said don’t go out without eating something.” Inside the bag we find , some apple juice and a banana muffin. At the bottom of the bag is a handwritten note: “Have an excellent day!” It seems significant somehow that somebody would be bothered to sit down and write the note.
Today we go into Grand Haven itself which as Catherine is trying to train me is not the sea but the lakeside. The biggest lake in America Michigan is so wide you can’t see the other side. I can’t wait to go… if it’s anything like Spring Lake, the view from our window it will be lovely or maybe even "Excellent!"