It's an old story now. I am sure you are tired of hearing about the grand Oregon Maple in Loyalty Park, of the seal off near the ferry there at Pt Defiance. I know that I have mentioned the rugs at Ikea, the pears at Tacoma Boys, faking out the sales clerks at the furniture warehouse in Sumner so many times it feels like scripture. It was a full day we shared that day. We went different directions at the end of the road, you to the 'Woods and full house, me to a house that was empty except for the sound of loud music and pacing. I played David Bowie and Herb Alpert that night, wrote you long letters, told you about the tunes and you wrote back, telling me that you'd listen to whatever it was I wanted you to hear. It was axsweet and wonderful agony we spent apart that night, but then came the dawn and all that agony and bliss went away. We went onto other things and that, my dear, is really the story of our lives.
Five years laters the sweetness and agony of that day still lingers. The poetry is still inscribed on the sidewalks off on the boardwalk there in Tacoma, Ikea still imports it's beautiful wool rugs. That little hamburger stand in Sumner still makes the best malteds and the pears are still stacked, firm and crisp, there off the aisles in Tacoma Boys. A lot of things have come and gone since that day. My old Bowie tape has worn out, the paint on the walls has changed. My life is so much different now and that is okay, too, because the anger I was wearing on my sleeve at the time was debilitating. The sorrow of losing my kids has mellowed, but that's only because I know where to find them and they know how to get ahold of me.
The biggest difference is in the knowing, knowing that our time as friends, when we could talk, laugh together, write, all that, has, for all intents and purposes, flown. So, I have to ask,when a person goes away like that does that mean it's the end of a friendship? When you run into someone on the sidewalk out of the blue does that mean when you meet them you are no longer friends but strangers in passing? I like to think that whenever I see you it's only been a short passage of time since I've seen you last. It's easy to want to catch up, even if my heart is racing and my mind is all befuddled.
Five years has come and gone since that day we met on the fly at Ikea. Your sister flew back that morning to whereever it was she was going, I left behind housework and got on the road on a whim. It was the best day I ever took a chance on. It left behind an indelible mark on my heart and soul, one that neither time or distance or social propriety can erase.
Be good, happy, all that, M and I will see you again somewhere down the road. I'll stop by here every now and then, leave clues about life, tell you how things are going. But otherwise, happy trails to you, Professora and I'll see you at sunset!
Love always, your WHMB
Five years laters the sweetness and agony of that day still lingers. The poetry is still inscribed on the sidewalks off on the boardwalk there in Tacoma, Ikea still imports it's beautiful wool rugs. That little hamburger stand in Sumner still makes the best malteds and the pears are still stacked, firm and crisp, there off the aisles in Tacoma Boys. A lot of things have come and gone since that day. My old Bowie tape has worn out, the paint on the walls has changed. My life is so much different now and that is okay, too, because the anger I was wearing on my sleeve at the time was debilitating. The sorrow of losing my kids has mellowed, but that's only because I know where to find them and they know how to get ahold of me.
The biggest difference is in the knowing, knowing that our time as friends, when we could talk, laugh together, write, all that, has, for all intents and purposes, flown. So, I have to ask,when a person goes away like that does that mean it's the end of a friendship? When you run into someone on the sidewalk out of the blue does that mean when you meet them you are no longer friends but strangers in passing? I like to think that whenever I see you it's only been a short passage of time since I've seen you last. It's easy to want to catch up, even if my heart is racing and my mind is all befuddled.
Five years has come and gone since that day we met on the fly at Ikea. Your sister flew back that morning to whereever it was she was going, I left behind housework and got on the road on a whim. It was the best day I ever took a chance on. It left behind an indelible mark on my heart and soul, one that neither time or distance or social propriety can erase.
Be good, happy, all that, M and I will see you again somewhere down the road. I'll stop by here every now and then, leave clues about life, tell you how things are going. But otherwise, happy trails to you, Professora and I'll see you at sunset!
Love always, your WHMB
Lastly, Los Lobos singing "Sabor a Mi"...
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