The farewells are beginning.
This afternoon I had dinner with three friends I have known for over fifty years. Stephanie lived across the street from me from third grade until I left for the Air Force. Colette lived up the street. Jim lived on a side street.
Jim and Steph married forty years ago this year. Colette and I were in the wedding.
There is something special about people who have known you that long. Artifice is a wasted resource. We know who we were and who we are.
James Thurber referred to a land where "time lies frozen there. It is always Then; it is never Now." That seems to be far more the way that parents see their children -- all through their lives.
But old friends are different. When I tell them that I am interested in adventure, not comfort, they understand the point. Of course, I like some comforts. I always have. But I also like doing (and saying) whatever will get a reaction.
That is why I was a bit concerned to hear Stephanie say: "He will be back in six months." Her comment bothered me on two levels. First, she knows me as well as anyone (even though she does not understand why anyone would voluntarily separate himself from his family). Second, her comment sounds far too similar to several that Michael Dickson has hurled over the past year.
Our three-hour dinner conversation was everything I could hoped for. We reestablished our friendships -- and I felt the bit of pang one should feel when possibly seeing friends for the last time.
This afternoon I had dinner with three friends I have known for over fifty years. Stephanie lived across the street from me from third grade until I left for the Air Force. Colette lived up the street. Jim lived on a side street.
Jim and Steph married forty years ago this year. Colette and I were in the wedding.
There is something special about people who have known you that long. Artifice is a wasted resource. We know who we were and who we are.
James Thurber referred to a land where "time lies frozen there. It is always Then; it is never Now." That seems to be far more the way that parents see their children -- all through their lives.
But old friends are different. When I tell them that I am interested in adventure, not comfort, they understand the point. Of course, I like some comforts. I always have. But I also like doing (and saying) whatever will get a reaction.
That is why I was a bit concerned to hear Stephanie say: "He will be back in six months." Her comment bothered me on two levels. First, she knows me as well as anyone (even though she does not understand why anyone would voluntarily separate himself from his family). Second, her comment sounds far too similar to several that Michael Dickson has hurled over the past year.
Our three-hour dinner conversation was everything I could hoped for. We reestablished our friendships -- and I felt the bit of pang one should feel when possibly seeing friends for the last time.
