Friendships...

Getting to know a friend from camp outside of camp is quite interesting. I have known my one friend for four camp years. In reality that is four weeks and the few days you see each other throughout the year. You'd be amazed how close you get at camp. We are each others support and lifeline. But some of the details don't always get discovered at camp.
Yesterday, I went to breakfast with my friend from Camp. He is the person who holds me together and has become an extremely important person in my life.
We made a pact to get together bi weekly throughout the year. We are failing, but yesterday we managed to hook up.
Over breakfast I learned he grew up a Jehovah Witness. Who knew? (this made me immedietely want to go buy him a Christmas present.)
Conversations unfolded and I found it quite delightful to be learning more about this person.
He shared a bit of information that took me quite by surprise, but the more I think of it , not really. Was there really hope for the females in his life? I pondered this intently throughout the day. Trust me.
We looked at wedding dresses, he helped me pick out socks at the gap, we got free cologne at Nordstroms, and bought outfits for his little niece. We discovered, much to our delight, that Benny and Joon is our favorite Johny Depp movie.
We decided while in the pirate store, that we are going to go to Disneyland together.
I just found it to be the perfect day. Getting to know someone you allready knew so well.
Loving that person more than you allready did. Truly a good day.

jb

It's all for the good of the journey...

I read in my daily mediation book that no meeting of two people is by chance.
The basic message was the universe puts people in your life and there is always a purpose. The purpose may be small; saying hi to someone on the street and having them say hi back might make you pause long enough to think "that was nice". The purpose might have just been to give you one good thought for the day.
Or it could be big;some people teach us how to love, or lead us to a great job. Eerything is part of your life journey whether small or large. Events unfold and sometimes we don't know why until much later.
If I wouldn't have ended up divorced, I wouldn't have been looking for something to keep me from dying of misery, which led me to search out volunteer work, which led to me to Camp Starlight which changed my life in such a huge way. Had I still been married I never would have met the huge community of people that have become such a great part of my life and I would never have met the lifeguard from camp. Which is what started me thinking on this track.
She is in a fire fighting program and needs some "real" time at a firehouse as part of her internship. This is very hard to come by. I have a brother who is a Captain of the PFD. I called him and he is going to hook her up so she can go out on some runs. This very well could open a door for her that never would have been opened had she not met ME. I am part of her path.
It's all very cosmic, but really, I have been trying to see this with every situation. Whatever is happening right now, right here, is part of my path and it is supposed to be happening. It is hard to remember that. I always want to say "why is this happening to me???" Well, if I wait long enough, I may just get my answer.
Maybe if my house catches on fire,(god forbid)I will call 911 and the first responder will be ladder 25 and out of the truck will hop the lifeguard from camp and maybe she will save my life and my house.
See how it works???????

jb

It's a brand new day....

Nov. 4, 2008
I will never forget this night. It was bowling night.
The tv's were blurry and we could not hear them. We took turns holding the radio to our ear.
I remember announcing...He just took Virginia. This is when I knew.
Everyone in the bowling alley seemed oblivious to the greatness of the night. They cheered but only when they picked up a spare, not because Obama just took Ohio. I was like Are you kidding me?
The six people on my team was exactly who I needed to be with. It was perfect. We wore the hats, we blew the horns and we listened with whatever ear we could smash up to the radio.
The one moment I will never forget as long as I live is when I looked up at the TV and I read "Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States". It was official. I yelled to my friends..LOOK!
He won! He won! I immedietely started crying and hugging my friends around me. It was the most fantastic moment ever. We had to keep bowling in between all this. We would watch our friend bowl and then go back to gluing our eyes to the tv. We hugged some more and we cried some more. It was so surreal.
Out of the whole bowling alley, I do believe we were the minority. This was the biggest thing in our lives and they just wern't there with it. It didn't matter. We were there together. In the end I was grateful I was with my bowling team. If you're going to remember something for the rest of your life, it helps to have really great friends to be part of your memory.
We toasted...I believe the first toast was "here's to the rest of our lives!" Followed immedietely by "America!! Fuck Yeah!"
then my friend said," Look, it's our first family!" And their were the four of them on stage. It was quite a site. I loved them instantly. All of them. My family of hope.
After we celebrated, we bowled game two. This time I bowled a 168.(much improved over the previous 96) The pressure was off and I had a new President. And I might add, I bowl much better than my President.
We hugged each other a bunch more and shed more tears. 6 people who knew at that given moment our lives were going to change.
We rushed the bowling along so we could get home and watch the speech we could not hear.
I sat on my couch and watched Barack walk onto the stage and give his speech. I cried my eyes out. I cried for every single black person that has ever been held down, treated bad, forced to drink from a different fountain. I was so proud of the American People this night. It should not be so wonderful because he is black, but reality is it is. It is something we never believed could happen. God, I hope MLK was able to watch from wherever he is. He has shattered racism and has taken away any excuses from any of us that we can't do something because we are black, or brown, or gay or whatever. This man just rocked change. You cannot look at him now without being inspired and being proud of him. Soon those in doubt will not see the color of his skin, they will only see his ability to change the United States. It will take time and we must be patient.

The magic of the night carried with me for a few days. I could not stop crying at work. Reading and listening to others reactions just brought more tears.
I am now in the mind frame of Ok. This is good. What can I do? For the first time since Bill Clinton spoke to me at Pioneer square I actually am willing to make sacrifces in order to help my President and my country.
All I know is it was a magical night. I am proud of President Obama. More than proud... I love him, and I am full of hope.
It really is a brand new day...

jb

My 3 minutes with David Sedaris...

David Sedaris is much shorter than I thought. I was greatly surprised. He seems so much taller in his headshot. He is also much more soft spoken than I had imagined. How could so much humor come from this tiny, gentle man?
He took the stage and entertained us with his readings. He is just as twisted in person as I had hoped. His humor takes a minute to catch up with you sometimes. I found myself laughing at an echo's pace.
I tried to remember things he said so I could relay to my friend later. Won't happen.
After the show, I immedietely get in line for the signing. It took forever. He has a full on conversation with each person. Which I find delightful, yet irritating as I am about 40 people back.
Thank God, he is talking to the girl in the bee costume now. One more robot, then ME.
It is my turn. The following is how my three minutes with David Sedaris went:

DS: Hi. How are you?
me: Good. How are you?
DS: better, now that I have a Scorpio in my presence. (takes my book, opens it up)
me: I'm a Libra.
DS: Hmm. oh really? (the hmm, says, I don't believe you)
DS:( looks up at me and spots my remember pin. ) Remember. Remember what?
me: remember the Holocoust.
DS: Hmm. It could also be "remember to do your laundry"
me: yes, it could. Or remember to take your lunch to work
DS: laughs. (the laugh says, why, yes, it very well could mean that, but don't try to outwit me)
DS: Who'd you come with?
me: two friends. They had to jet off to a party.
DS: You wern't invited?
me: no
DS: hmm.
me: it's ok
he is drawing in my book as we talk.
DS: (finishes the drawing, signs his name and begins searching through his pile of treats) Here, take this.
me: I take from him, this tiny, plastic, red devil with a tail.
DS: This is to hook onto your to go coffee cup, to remind you that you really didn't want to go that fucking party anyway.
me: thank you
DS: Thank you. Bye (closes book, hands it to me and smiles at me)
My three minutes with David Sedaris are over.

I walk out into the night and glance at the picture he drew. A turtle body with a human head wearing a top hat.

I laugh. Did that really just happen? Hmm.

jb