Flash Back Saturday

I had this friend many years ago (20 actually) who started dating this girl very close to Valentine's Day. She was kind of a whack job to begin with, if I remember correctly, and as Valentine's Day approached, she pretty much demanded that he send her roses to work for the occasion. We were really good friends, and when he told me about this demand, it bothered me. I am pretty sure I told him that you shouldn't have to ASK for flowers (at work or anywhere) - you should want the guy to just do it. You know, if he doesn't, what can you do? Right? Anyway, Valentine's Day rolls around and of course he sent her the roses (he was just a really good guy). Meanwhile, back at the Honda dealership I worked at, a dozen long stemmed red roses (you know, the kind that come in a big long box?) is delivered to me from "my secret admirer" or something like that. The office girls oohed and aahed appropriately (one was kind of pissed because I was the only girl that got anything) and we tried to figure out who they were from, and since I was single (it's a pattern) I couldn't be sure who they were from. I sort of sort of thought they were from my friend, but it's not like you can call and ask, so I decided to let it work itself out.

Later in the day, my friend came to visit me with a single red rose. I of course was very happy to see him and for the rose and I thought it was so sweet, and when I told him about the dozen ones I had received earlier, he sort of looked downtrodden and bummed and said something like, Wow, I guess this one little rose must look sad next to that. I of course rushed to tell him, No no this one rose means so much more! and after an agonizingly long time he finally looked at me slyly and said, Then I guess I wasted too much money on the dozen.

Isn't that just a really great story? I love that story. Ordinarily I only remember it when Valentine's Day rolls around, and really I haven't even thought of it in the last few Valentine's Days simply because it's been a pretty long time since I have had a Valentine. But I remembered it tonight when I was thinking about what a pretty cool day it was today.

So earlier this morning I am sitting in front of the cracktop, drinking coffee and checking out Eddie Bauer online, and my sister Shelia calls. She asks me, "Who is Jeff M.?" and I stopped dead in my tracks. He tracked her down through the wonders of stealth software and left her his number yesterday. So of course I called him back. Seriously, 20 years. It was the greatest thing. I told a couple people later and they were like, is he like going through a divorce or something? And he isn't. I mean he is relatively newly married and anyway it wasn't really like that. I have thought about him for the last 20 years myself, and Google never turns anything up and then I let it go. We talked for like 3 hours and my battery died just after I hung up and went to check the 5 voicemails that came in during that time. I know he is going to read this sooner or later, so at the risk of sounding sappy, it probably was the greatest phone call I have ever had. So I am pretty happy and feeling all remember-y and shit. Yay.

So one of the 5 messages was that dang Bill R. calling from his folks' house here in Washington County (I won't say "here in town" because they live in Cornelius and it's practically the beach), but due to the recharging battery I could not phone him back right away. Bill and I go back about 8 years or so, but we have emailed and spoken from time to time since then. He ended up phoning ME back from his cell, and was meeting friends to watch basketball (woo hoo Ducks by the way) and then later to the Sports Page. I told him I would meet him since I admit I have NOT been around to see him in the last couple of visits (he reads this too - so I am being honest with everyone about how remiss I have been). I went to the bar around 8 and got home around 10:30 and it was great seeing him. The beard was a little shocking, though. I thought people only grew full beards in the midwest in winter. Isn't pretty much warm all the time in Texas?

So now here I sit, all basking in this great day I had in which I accomplished only about 1/4 of the things I needed to get done, but not caring and feeling pretty happy and looking forward to knowing that some friends are just there for the rest of your life, whether you see them all the time or not.

Yay.