Old Friends

Friends of long standing?  Friends I've known forever?  Old Friends just feels right.

Besides, we are old now.

I met the Golden Gopher and his long, blond ponytail on my first day of social work school.  We were 5 people in blue jeans and flannel shirts, surrounded by Huckapoo shirts and slim skirts.  

In the early 1970's, clothes were defining and we definitely stood out.  I searched for my people, and found them in the back row, smiling as I approached.  We've been friends ever since.

Weddings and surgeries and moving and all of life's adventures have passed through, leaving their marks.  When he and Mrs. Gopher came for my birthday, just weeks after I was perforated, we spent the night laughing and crying and remembering and being grateful.  There are some people who are permanent fixtures - these are two of  them.

They are the reason we're living in Tucson.  We live in Phoenix but we love Tucson they told us and here we are.  They are not.

Tucson proved pricey and unavailable.  They're moving to Asheville, North Carolina, instead.

I'm glad for them.  I really am.  It's driving distance to her sisters.  It has 4 distinct seasons.  There's lots of music and festivals and natural beauty.  The coast is close.  So is Nashville.  Prices are reasonable.  There are small communities within 10 minutes of downtown Asheville, each with its own personality.  And every Friday night there's a drum circle in the middle of downtown.

They'll be happy.  We will visit.  Still, having them here in town for a week before they begin their drive east is wonderful .... and a tease of what might have been.

Sigh.