‘I Walked to the Q With a Bounce in My Step and a Twinkle in My Eyes’

Jimmie Dale Mood

Dear Diary:

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. in a Jimmie Dale Gilmore mood and was soon playing his song “I’m Gonna Love You” on repeat.

Two hours later, still listening to Jimmie through my earbuds, I walked to the Q with a bounce in my step and a twinkle in my eyes.

My joyful mood must have been unmistakable. A handsome younger man boarded the train and stood beside me, flashing a big smile.

A few minutes into the ride, he asked what I was listening to.

I told him.

“You look happy,” he said. “Are you headed to the gym?”

I wondered why he would ask that. Did I look fit? Or like I needed a workout?

Nope. Foot doctor. Achilles tendinitis.

He offered me sympathy, and suggestions.

I asked where he was going.

“To the gym,” he said. “In the city.”