Sunday Blues

I grew up in a state where and a time when blue laws severely limited commerce on Sundays, and when I reached adulthood I opposed them on principle. These days those laws are basically gone from the books everywhere, but I find that I now have my own internal blue laws.

Maybe it’s fitting. I was born on a Sunday, after all.

My rules are rather curious, though.

It’s O.K to wash dishes or clothes, for instance, but not to sweep or vacuum. I won’t mow the yard, rake leaves or wash the car, but I will take out the trash, fill the car with gas or deposit a check at an A.T.M.

Put down storm windows, no. Clean cats’ litter box, yes.

Collect tomatoes or other food from the garden, yes. Stake tomatoes or otherwise tend to the garden, no.

Going to a store for some things is O.K., shopping online for anything is not.

I’ll buy groceries (which includes beer), medicines, and toiletries, but not clothing, appliances or athletic equipment. But doing something athletic or sporting is all right, and I consider shooting pool to be in that category.

I try to limit my reading to newspapers or books about philosophy, religion or spirituality and avoid fiction/entertainment. But I include martial arts under the broad heading of mind/body improvement, which qualifies as spirituality, and going to a movie or watching TV is allowable.

Listening to music is fine, even that Godless rock ’n’ roll.

Downloading music is not fine, though uploading pictures from my digital camera is.

The list of rules here is incomplete; and in fact I’ve never before considered enumerating them. I just know intuitively what I will and won’t do. Besides, on a lot of Sundays none of the prohibited activities come into play anyway, because I don’t really have time for them.

I work on Sundays.