”My friends are my estate.”
It might rain today. I should have expected it as washing the kitchen floor tops my chore list. As for that chore list, my sloth days are over for a bit. I have to clean the house, friends are coming. Those clumps of Henry hair will soon be a memory, at least for a day or two.
When I was a kid, I loved rainy afternoons. I’d get soaked walking home from school. My shoes would bubble at the tops. That always amused me. I’d get home, hang up my wet clothes, put my shoes by the radiator and change into my pajamas. I’d get cozy in bed and read the afternoon away. Sometimes I’d even fall asleep with my open book in hand.
Life is quiet right now. My uke gets me out of the house. Without it, I would be the poster child for slothhood. I like the slower pace, but it did take me a while to get rid of the guilt of choosing to do little.
I met my friends who are coming this week on the first day of what is called staging in Peace Corps lingo, the day you check in to begin your journey. You meet the people with whom you’ll serve and learn more about where you’re going and what the training will be. I remember standing in line for the check in. I chatted with the people around me. That’s when I met Bill and Peg, kindred spirits from New Hampshire. We became accomplices. We did attend sessions, but we also skipped a few. We were in Philadelphia where none of us had ever been so we became tourists. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the art museum with the Rocky steps and the spectacular view from the top of the William Penn building, city hall. Bill and Peg were to be stationed about a 100 miles from me in Tamale then they found out Peg was pregnant. Peace Corps let them stay but moved them to the south a long way from me. We stayed close despite the distance. I saw them during school holidays, and we traveled together. Once back, we lost touch for a long while, but then we found each other again. The years melted away. They are still kindred spirits. We are still the best of friends.
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November 2, 2024 at 2:04 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is cloudy with some drizzle. Monday we should get a soaking rain. The high today is a chilly 80°.
You are so lucky to still have Bill and Peg as friends all these years. I finally connected with a high school buddy just a couple of months ago. He finished college in New York and moved back to his home country of the Netherlands to avoid the draft and the Vietnam War. I had tried to find him through Facebook, but I couldn’t remember the spelling of his last name. Finally, he stumbled onto my cousin’s blog and saw one of my posts. He did a Facebook search and we connected.
I have another High School buddy who lives in Bozeman Montana. He and my Dutch buddy are both retired. My Montana friend avoided the draft because of an injury he sustained while trying to start a car by pouring gasoline down the throat of a carburetor. He has become a far right wing MAGA supporter, during this election season we don’t discuss politics.
Mentioning politics, I can’t figure out how anyone with any intelligence can vote for Trump. As Election Day approaches his speeches are becoming more and more weird and unhinged. One Trump supporter summed it up, on NPR, He said that he hates all political class in Washington. He still considers that Trump is a Washington outsider.
November 2, 2024 at 11:05 pm
Hi Bob,
We ended up with just a cloudy sky, no rain. It stayed in the low 50’s.
How neat that you and your high school friend found each other again. I also have friends dating back to elementary school and high school. We don’t see each other often, but we do stay in touch. I run into high school friends periodically as may of them still I’ve on the cape.
I know one of my college roommates supported Trump I’m 2020. I was shocked to see her posts on Facebook. I commented and she unfriended me. I think that’s the only one I know.
I’m with you in not understanding how anyone with any intelligence can back Trump. He is the antipathy of a decent person. It also shocks me that women can support him.