Thursday, September 9, 2010

Bubba good bye

And the seasons they go 'round and 'round
And the painted ponies go up and down


am bumming a bit.  One of my two best friends leaves tomorrow.  Portland Oregon.  I have known him every single moment of his life and though he has taken trips and there were times I didn't see him all that much.... there was never a day when I didn't know when I would see him again.  That all changes tomorrow.  New challenges in new places.... 


I guess I always knew that someday he would go somewhere.... I just never thought it would be this far away.

We're captive on the carousel of time

I remember when he was about  six and I took him out to Washington State to visit my brother.  We cruised the San Juan Islands and camped on a beach.  Hiked in the Norther Cascades.  The real telling story of that trip though was that he lost his first baby tooth up in the mountains.  Of course he was distraught.... the tooth fairy thing.  I told him that when we got home I would leave a note under his pillow and the tooth fairy, being wise and reasonable, would accept the note.  That is what happened.  About a week after we returned my brother sent him a large over sized plastic molar from a novelty shop with a note..."Dear Max... I found  your tooth...gosh.. things really grow big in the mountains."  Well the kid believed it.  It was his tooth... it did grow big ...  and I realized my son was a Believer.  That all things are possible.

I remember helping coach him when he played soccer and football.  He was crazy about sports. Still is.  At one time he had three years of the NBA Draft memorized.... player, pick, school, height&weight, but still would have difficulty naming what year the War of 1812 took place.

He had a radio show at the U for about two years and would frequently have me as a guest on the show.  He would introduce me as a homeless guy that walked into the studio.  Another Sunday night he said he had left the window open and God had come into the studio. All I could say was, "Bless you my son."  It was better than throwing a Frisbee with him... a skill I never acquired.

We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came


 He'll be ok.  I haven't been able to give him as much as I would have liked to.  He worked all through college...sometimes three part time jobs simultaneously .  I did my best to give him a sense of humor.  He took the gift and built on it often creating much more fun than I could handle.  He was a bouncer on weekends at my favorite pub, Oblio's.  Tonight they are having a little good-bye thingee for him and his buddy Jon.  Stop down...  it will be fun.  And I will cry.




And go round and 'round and 'round
In the circle game
And go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game.

It's a good thing my other best friend is still around....... I don't know what I would do with out her sense of humor......

kiss me good night, Max.....



9 comments:

Sherry Peyton said...

Bloody hell, if I was wearing mascara, it would be all over my face! Have a great time tonight and well, I'll be thinking about you you old coot.

Life As I Know It Now said...

He's a great guy I'm sure and you have done a hell of a good job.

Commander Zaius said...

Approaching that point myself, my son will be 15 next month and has long since developed his own life and interests. I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't having a bit of an issue with his growing up.

We did almost everything together for years with my daughter joining us right after we brought her home from China. Now it’s just her and me with disturbing trends that she herself will soon abandon me for her own friends.

Sleepovers with friends started superseding beach trips with dad last year.

Randal Graves said...

You big sap. I know you did a good job with your minions, they'll be alright. Now, more beer for you? :)

David Barber said...

Hey Jimm,

He'll always be your bud and he'll always be in your heart. Guys always love their dads!!

Left a comment on your comment on mt last FFF. Thanks for the input but it was puposely done. You're also a permanent link on my blog. :-)

Have a great weekend, mate.

Cormac Brown said...

Time for him to leave the nest and fly. Of course, there's a pretty good chance he'll get sick of the Oregon rain and come back home.

susan said...

Portland is a great city and I'm sure he's going to have a wonderful time there but that's not your point, is it?

I send you my heartfelt wishes that he finds he just can't stand corny traditions like the Rose Festival.

okjimm said...

Sherry...thanks.
Libs... he iis a great guy. He just called me from SD.... said they had a good night "gazing at stars".. Not sure how I am supposed take that?

Randal... Yupperz I am a sap... and proud of it! I came out of the closet as a SAP (Serious Anachronistic Person) years ago! ;)

Dear Bum.... I never knew letting to hurt this much.

David.... I should do FFF sometime... if I can ever get my attention span up to speed!

Cormac... yea.... but it would've been nice if he 'cleaned' the nest before he flew the coop!

Susan... the intitial idea for them is to 1)make the coast 2) check out redwoods 3) find a good brewery. I like kids with an agenda!

Unknown said...

Ya did good jimm. ;)

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