Musing

-7C/20F, steady breeze, fresh snow changes everything – brown is gone, white is here for a while, Gusta can actually follow the rabbit tracks by sight, traffic is light and slow as driving conditions look only slightly better than yesterday

door crasher special: term retailers use to entice us to get up early

I learned yesterday, it has an alternate meaning

sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves because no one else will, yesterday was one of those days; overhead door repairs were completed and plumbers had the glycol loop going last night while we were at the movies (Blood Diamond is not for those with a weak stomach – di Caprio’s character finds redemption in the end – the Namibian scenery where the film was shot is spectacular); the real drama was earlier, coming home from our lunch and shopping outing, SC and I witnessed a mini-crisis first hand; it turned out the heat had been turned off so the snow covered ramp resembled a slippery toboggan hill – some guy (me) drove down, could not stop on the slippery surface and crashed the garage door, then spent an hour (the joy of front wheel drive) backing up the icy ramp . . all is well now; my grill scarcely more damaged than my ego, the garage door did not do so well

when I was very young, the concept of having life-long friends was not something I could grasp; other than relationships with family members, my parents did not have any and moving around did not facilitate me forming strong bonds that last and last

spending time with one of my dearest and oldest friends (the friendship, not her age) is hard to describe – we talk frequently between sporadic visits here and there, but this is the first time SC has been here for a visit in two years; the ‘knowing each other so well’ does not disappear notwithstanding a dozen years or so since we last shared life together;

I don’t think this is a product of middle age – forming friendships that last – but maybe appreciating them so much is not the thing of ‘younger folk’; I can only speak of my own experiences but I know that twenty years ago I was much more cavalier in my approaches to situations, relationships of all kinds – self serving, ‘what’s in it for me’ and meeting my needs was characteristic of most of those connections . . . little wonder they had a short shelf life

do dear friends mean so much to me because I have known them so long or is it because my middle aged vantage point lets me see their value so much better; the stage of life I am at or the amount of experience I have – which is it?

why we care about people is probably far less important to understand than is ‘that we care about people’

when we are starry-eyed or star-crossed and young we tell our loves, lovers and flings-du-jour partners hopes rather than truths, we whisper hopes and dreams, we promise things we fail to deliver upon, we yearn for the long lasting magic – the kind people take to their coffins – enduring, everlasting love

we lucky few get to have those special people in our lives from time to time; we luckier few get to keep those precious people in our lives

most old wounds heal, they really do; talking about old times is not so much about the OLD as it is about the TIMES . . the times we had without remorse about the times we never had

these special people, my collection, my treasures – sometimes they are distant physically or emotionally for a while, sometimes for a long while – but never gone, never lost

sometimes we talk with them, sometimes we just ‘know they will be there’ when we call, sometimes they visit us, sometimes we crash through doors with them

old dear friends, if you need a place to crash, you can do it at my place

FAA

Mark
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