Bookends

Old friends, like Rache & Steph, make me think of Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends song ...

Time it was / and what a time it was / it was / a time of innocence / a time of confidences / long ago / it must be / I have a photograph / preserve your memories / they're all that's left you

Last week I spend five splendiferous days with Rache and her husband. In London, in their rented flat, which had only a few personal photographs decorating the fully furnished, temporary home. And yet it felt like coming home.

Spending time - away from work, away from the daily grind - with dear old friends. Dear old friends. Friends that I didn't immediately like at our initial meeting - many years ago. My first impression, my gut instinct, was dead wrong. Living, breathing proof in the adage 'don't judge a book by its cover.'

If they came in a pill form, I'd take it as a supplement. The two of them have a calming, comforting effect on me. They're deep thinkers, they laugh with me (and at me), they're cuddlers. They're uber!

I haven't lived in the same city with Rache since college and yet she's such a near and dear friend. I had forgotten how soft, melodious Rache's laugh and voice are ... someone once likened it to Wendy from South Park. Her husband Jonathan has a fascination with identifying everyone by four letters ... Myers-Briggs is his analytic of choice.

In another year they'll probably be headed back to the States. Probably not back to California, but where? Of course I dropped a few (not so subtle) plugs for STL. I'd love to have them so close by. My motivations are entirely selfish. But, if I step back and think about it, wherever they land will be a home away from home for me. I simply am lucky to have them in my life - whether they're in my back yard or across the pond.