Day 87

Good evening my Corona friends and I hope everyone is happy and healthy today. Things are trending up for us here in our great state and hope it will remain that way if we all do our part, wear a mask and wash our hands. Some will, some won’t, but as they say we are all in this together, so just choose who want to be together with during this time. Tonight we had the pleasure of spending some time with some college friends as we bid one of them adieu, as he is going to retire and relocate to the west coast. I was thinking tonight a lot about friendships and how they start, end or just keep going. My friend David I met about twenty years ago in college or maybe it was forty, time goes by so fast.  It was summer school and I was taking a Russian history class and for the life of me, I can’t recall why.  Probably had something to do with just getting enough credits or some nonsense. Anyway I keep feeling his eyes on my paper during a quiz, and knew he was cheating off my paper. Good luck with that, taking a big chance. It was months later that we would become friends and he denied the cheating, but I know differently. The amazing thing is he turned out to be my now lovers, roommate, who I would go onto meet months later when I picked him up hitchhiking. We all went to the University of Massachusetts so it was easy for us to stay together as a group, as most stayed local or always had family here, so we could keep a connection. We have been pretty lucky to weather these friendships for so long, and even when a college friend got divorced, we kept the wife as part of our group, and now we always just assume she was with us back then. Just feels right. College is where you do make lasting friendships, and I often wonder if I met this person today would we be friends?  Hard to say but you choose to love them, and stay with them through thick and thin. I was thinking of all the friendships I have made over the years and it isn’t always the case that you can just click with someone that you will know this is going to last. One of my best friends today, I met years ago when we were roommates in the hospital giving birth to our daughters. That’s right ladies you are missing out because now it is pretty much a forgone conclusion you will be in your own room, come birthing time.  You won’t experience getting wheeled into a room in the middle of the night with a shower curtain separating you, and you share with a total stranger about your hemorrhoids and episiotomy. It was good to know I wasn’t the only one with the ‘roids. Luckily we managed to stay in touch and even ended living close by. Those two angels that were born that day have remained close. There are the friends you meet through your kids and they are mostly social, but I lucked out and got my friend Celia, even after our kids drifted apart, so great. I am lucky enough to have worked with so many great people and even after they have moved on, they just can’t get rid of me. Before you know it some of them had babies getting married and graduating. How did that happen?  I know we all live such busy lives and not always easy to connect with old friends or meet new ones. It was very special tonight to make it a point to get together on a school night, to wish our friend goodbye, and good luck. Of course most of them are retired so it’s not like they have anywhere to be tomorrow but good effort. Techie and I are still working and do have to be somewhere tomorrow but wouldn’t have missed it for the world.  I hope I can continue to make friends, but I am getting very crotchety the older I get and if I didn’t have this nice roommate, I probably wouldn’t be invited out much. I was hoping for more time of reflection under corona virus, but with what is getting thrown at us every day it can be tough. We did consider renting an RV to head to Oklahoma but that plan was vetoed pretty fast, because of the virus spreading and I am not talking Corona.  Davie we wish you well as you trek across the country with Paul and Diva, but do you think it will be as much fun as you and I had back in the 70”s driving to San Francisco it that old Buick. I am glad that trip didn’t end our friendship.

 Just sayin