In this week’s essay, John discusses Mothers’s Day, playing tennis with the Attorney General, medical scares, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 19, page 16. April 2011 Is it possible, through applied thought, to become systematic in an approach to life? If you were to do that how would you proceed?  Notebook 16, page 6. July 26, 2005 “I’m here with a bunch of midshipmen and wondering what there is to do around here.” - Boy trying to hit on a girl working @ The Reef in Castine, ME. Notebook 15, page 30. September 2004 Head problems: Sunday 9/5 morning Tuesday 9/7 evening Wednesday 9/8 before lunch Notebook 22, page 22. April 24, 2014 Question:  What did you want to be when you were a kid?  What do you want to be now? Why the difference? Notebook 9. 1995 “That’s just the ticket the doctor ordered” Notebook 13. 2001 “Free as a clam” Notebook 17, page 67. December 2006 The man sitting next to me has a face on the boil and garlic and old booze on his breath. When he sleeps, he sighs. For this leg of the flight I am wrapped in his breathy gumbo. Notebook 15, page 7. April 2004 “In all these there are messages for those who use their reason.” - Quran quotation Notebook 15, page 80. 2005 Would like to meet her. Notebook 54. July 26, 2020 “Writing requires a reader. You can’t do it alone.” - John Cheever Notebook 15, page 71. 2005 In the light of sobriety not sure what this means Notebook 13. March 2001 Yesterday I played tennis with John Ashcroft the atty. general of the U.S. Notebook 13, page 108. December 11, 2001 Anne just called. There is one little heartbeat beating in her today. Everything is okay for this hurdle. I must say, I was really worried. Notebook 20, page 10. December 24, 2013 “Sometimes Dad says weird stuff, just ignore him” - Anne to kids about me Notebook 15, page 84. “Life goes on,” Hayawi says. “We are in the middle of a war [in Iraq] and we still smoke the water pipe.” Notebook 45, page 24. April 16, 2019 Our savior lives by the manner in which we live. Notebook 19, page 23. 2011 People on their mobile phones in England say goodbye a lot: “Cheers, alright then, speak to you soon, ta.” (That’s four ways of saying goodbye). Amelia tells the story of a man who thanked a ticket-taker by saying “Ta, magical, cheers.” References: Disaster on the Penobscot - John Henry Fay for Naval History Magazine One Man’s Meat by E.B. White The House at Allen Cove I E.B. White House Tour - New England Magazine Little Plastic Castle - Ani Defranco “Two Years of War: Taking Stock” - Anthony Shadid for the Washington Post Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen.   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at [email protected]