And the painted ponies go up and down
I 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.
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......
