associated in random thought

rallying the troops

i've just gotten home from work--by way of a happy hour detour to the green muse--and i am sitting contentedly on the patio. the sky grows redder by the moment, a slow crescendo of sunset. the dogs are barking at passersby, and the cats are skulking in the ivy. all is well in this little world.

in the ashtray beside me sits a solitary pall mall cigarette butt, and i know that our neighbor, joe has been here. he stopped by this morning, after i'd gone to work, to drop off a bottle of cold-brewed coffee. joe swears by the stuff. he says it tastes fresher than drip coffee. i'll give it a go. we'll see.

it just makes me immeasurably happy that the neighbors stop by with gifts, that they water helen's garden when it appears neglected. that our dogs, for the most part, play in peace every evening at the dog meeting.

a hodge podge community. i like it.

today, of course, was better because it is friday. every menial task was done by 5 o'clock, and i felt like i got my hands dirty with the earth of the work. and now i am free for the weekend, left to my own devices (which will hopefully include writing), and i resolve to be thankful for the freetime.

my sisters rallied around me via email today--helen #2 and sheela and jude and marlei--and their words were embraces from LA, london, and nashville. jude called me a bit ago, and it was so wonderful to hear her voice, conversation was so cozy that i almost invited her over. i forget about several states and the atlantic between us.

and then, out of the blue, my friend carie im'ed me. we were fast friends as freshmen in college, back in canton, ohio. ah, malone. carie and i fostered a dormlife friendship, with late night pizza and giggles, contraband beer and cigarettes, as well as impossible crushes. we saw jars of clay play in akron together (that line's for you, flibbityflu). and she was there for me in that first semester, when my father died. all the time i was away for the funeral, she wrote me letters, which she gave me upon my return. carie was a good, good friend, and i have not seen her in over six years.

she misses me, she said. after all this time and living, she remembers our friendship. we made promises to visit soon, somehow.

my friend, michael, emailed me last night, out of the blue. "you don't send me flowers anymore. what the hell?" he asked with a smile. i was there when his first son, jacob, was born.

i may not have many friends in austin just yet, but i certainly have friends. and their phonecalls and emails reminded me that physical proximity doesn't mean much.

tag: malone college

Posted by bananie at May 13, 2005 7:03 PM | TrackBack