300 Miles from Home

and the journey continues. . . . I've spent another few days with my aunt & uncle, and have so enjoyed it. It is different down here, with the smell of wood mills and pine trees, the crunch of gravel, and everywhere we drive in town these odd snapshots of memories, they click in and out as we drive through town.


I spent the better part of yesterday with my aunt hanging pictures in her new home. Then last night, I went to dinner with an old friend with whom I worked 5 and 6 years ago. I remembered that she lived in a community somewhere near, so I decided to call every one in the phone book with that last name. My aunt said, "Their whole phone books not but about 5 pages long. It can't take much to find her." She was right, two listings, bingo on the either one.


Her mother said, "Are you a salesman?" to which I answered, "Well, yes, I've spent most of my life peddling stuff, but never to Cathy." "Are you a friend of hers?" to which I replied, "Well, I'm sure she's had better, but I'd like to think so."


So Cathy calls me back and we end up having dinner at a Cracker Barrel, and sitting there I asked her about Lisa, who also worked with us and lives somewhere here. There's some odd story about how Lisa's sister is married to a brother of about 5 siblings. The two oldest brothers are each married to two of my first cousins. So Lisa and I are not kin to each other, but we're almost kin to the same people. So we run up to the place where Lisa works, and I go in and she's not there, so I leave a card for her thinking, "That girl looks familiar, but I don't know anyone here. . . ." It was a fleeting thought, passed through my head almost without being a full thought.


So a bit later, we're at Lisa's house and the girl calls to tell her that I came by, Lisa hangs up and says, "That was Margie calling to tell me you came by." In that instant it dawned on me, Margie's a sister to all them brothers. I haven't seen her in probably 25 years.


So that was a catch-up night, all "Where is so-and-so" and "Did you hear about such-and-such." It was so good to see the both of them again. Cathy had not changed a day since I last saw her, and Lisa's daughter, now four, is just as cute as two buttons. Just adorable.





This is me & Cathy at Cracker Barrel. I told her the blog is sort of anonymous, so I couldn't have a face-shot and there's no risk of anyone calling her and saying, "I saw you on that gay guy's blog!" She said it's more likely someone will call her and say, "I recognized your backside!"