To the Inaugurator of Movements, 24th Day of Midsommar, 525 M.E. (Betelgeuse): Apologies for the long, self-indulgent memoir of the past five days. It was the kind of thing that once started was hard to finish and it seemed like there was always one more little detail that had to be included.  

Today, Betelgeuse, is a walking day. It's been rainy (finally!) and I wasn't able to get my steps in during all of those days writing the Barbuda story - maybe that's why I had enough time on my hands to write all that down. It's still rainy today, but I managed to squeeze a Jeffersonian 3.7 miles in between the rainfalls, my first walk in six days. For the record, the mileposts indicate I walked 4.5 miles - a Madison - but my phone only logged 3.7.

Out on the trail, I passed two young woman who were talking about their experience at a Buddhist meditation center. I wanted to jump into their conversation but didn't - I was sweaty (it's quite humid with all the rainfall) and I hadn't shaved in a week and I thought my appearance (I looked like Charles Bukowski in dark sunglasses) might send them the wrong message about the benefits of meditation. 

Mystery: last night (3:30 a.m.) I was awakened by the sound of four chimes in a rising scale, the kind of sound a PC or other electronic device might make on startup. The thing was, there was no PC or other device in the bedroom with me and I deliberately leave my phone to recharge overnight in the kitchen while I sleep. It's possible the sound was in a dream - I can't rule that out - but it sure didn't sound like it. It was loud enough to wake me up, but once done, vanished into the was-that-real-or-not fog of memory. It's possible the sound came from another room - I can't rule that out either - although it sounded like it was right next to me in the room. I don't own any electronics that would be starting up at 3:30 am. I checked my phone, laptop, and PC, and none had undergone a restart, a system update, or some other function that would make them chime, and none make that particular sound I heard.

Is there some mysterious device planted somewhere in my house? Does it go off every night, but I just noticed it for the first time last night? And most importantly, will I ever know the answer, or will it remain one of those many mysteries in life that will be forever unsolved?