Saw An Old Friend Today
I grew up in a neighborhood where other kids were free to come and go as they pleased. Up and down the road in our small town, we got together for baseball games, hockey games, and dinner. Through circumstance, we all became close, and when life came charging at us, we stayed tight and vowed to be forever friends.
Not that we aren't, but a lot of days passed, since I last laid eyes on my buddy, Tom, and his sister Cherri. Unfortunately, our reunion took place in a hospital waiting room. I fully expected Tom to greet me in the manner that he did - "Man, you look like shit," he said. "And it's not just because your brother is sick."
We shook hands for a long moment - not one of those obligatory hand pumps - but one that held deep meaning and carried a world of emotions through days, weeks, months, years, and for always. "You were always an ugly bastard," I answered.
We didn't spend much time on the Glory Days - a couple of stories mixed in with questions about Jeff. We caught up by discussing our kids, our lives, and the long days on the hospital floor. I had a moment where the sound of his voice rang in my head and brought me back in time to days where life was simple, but we made it complicated. We had shared our first crushes, our first beers, our first set of dreams about where we wanted to be when 'we grew up'.
And being grown, there was little time for regret. Through the years we had usually ended our conversations with thoughts of getting together soon - we didn't do that today. We didn't discuss how good it was too see each other - that would have been difficult in examining the circumstances of why we were sharing the same turf after so many years.
Instead, Tom simply shook my hand once more. "Jeff will be fine in time," he said. "God will take care of you guys. I spend a lot of time telling my kids about you and your family. It's strange that I started my life surrounded by you guys, but it was great to be around all of you. It made my life better knowing all the Fuzzy's - as crazy as you are."
My mind is fatigued, my body is threatening a rebellion, but an old friend drifted in and blew a little grace back into the window I've left open to allow for such things.
Not that we aren't, but a lot of days passed, since I last laid eyes on my buddy, Tom, and his sister Cherri. Unfortunately, our reunion took place in a hospital waiting room. I fully expected Tom to greet me in the manner that he did - "Man, you look like shit," he said. "And it's not just because your brother is sick."
We shook hands for a long moment - not one of those obligatory hand pumps - but one that held deep meaning and carried a world of emotions through days, weeks, months, years, and for always. "You were always an ugly bastard," I answered.
We didn't spend much time on the Glory Days - a couple of stories mixed in with questions about Jeff. We caught up by discussing our kids, our lives, and the long days on the hospital floor. I had a moment where the sound of his voice rang in my head and brought me back in time to days where life was simple, but we made it complicated. We had shared our first crushes, our first beers, our first set of dreams about where we wanted to be when 'we grew up'.
And being grown, there was little time for regret. Through the years we had usually ended our conversations with thoughts of getting together soon - we didn't do that today. We didn't discuss how good it was too see each other - that would have been difficult in examining the circumstances of why we were sharing the same turf after so many years.
Instead, Tom simply shook my hand once more. "Jeff will be fine in time," he said. "God will take care of you guys. I spend a lot of time telling my kids about you and your family. It's strange that I started my life surrounded by you guys, but it was great to be around all of you. It made my life better knowing all the Fuzzy's - as crazy as you are."
My mind is fatigued, my body is threatening a rebellion, but an old friend drifted in and blew a little grace back into the window I've left open to allow for such things.
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