40 Years and 40 Pounds Later

With my hands at ten and two on the wheel I peered over the fender…my eyes fixated on the broken white stripe in the middle of the black pavement. As it passed with a monotonous rhythm…my entire body relaxed and my mind slipped into a hypnotic state. Slowly I began to recall the memories of the past week. The smell of the fresh mountain air scented by the spruce, fur and pine…the vision of endless forests punctuated with a snow capped peak…all as vivid as if I were there. The swarm of hummingbirds at the sugar water feeders all hovering in formation as if a squadron of fighters waiting to refuel behind a tanker. From the balcony of my host’s mountain home I observed the rays of sunlight illuminating the valley floor as it peeked over the lofty New Mexico terrain. Everyone was still asleep and the quiet calm of the early morning was magic.

We had been invited to a gathering of college buddies…an eclectic group of brilliant minds who had majored in the fine art of joke telling, practical jokes and frivolous trivia. Needless to say having a good time had a high priority then and apparently now. I was experiencing some soreness in my ribcage due to heavy laughing from the night before. They told the most incredibly funny stories about our misspent youth…stories which got better with age like a fine wine. I laughed till I cried. Perhaps I should repress such memories.

Interestingly most all are still married to our college sweethearts, our first wives. That’s most serendipitous today, today when the number of divorces almost keeps pace with the national debt. Could it be that there is some common thread or tiny moral fiber, however small, weaving our lives together? Holding hands in a large circle we prayed before meals…prayed and gave thanks...prayed for those who are no longer with us. It was a trip back in time, back to a less complicated time.

Clearing the 1764 miles from the trip odometer I stepped out of the car into the South Texas heat and humidity…the hypnotic spell was broken. Even after 40 years and 40 pounds it seemed like yesterday. Perhaps real friendships are timeless and cannot be defined by words but only felt in the innermost depths of our soul.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the wonderful blessing of friends
Amen.


8/10/2008