adventures in re-discovery

i miss being young. i miss how huge the tree in my old backyard seemed when i would lay under it, watching the wind hush through the leaves. the branches would wave and i would wave back at them. i miss how my old swing set used to hiss and creak as my speed would increase, hiss, screech, creak, hiss, back and forth. my hair would whip into my mouth as it widened in a gaping smile. hiss, screech, creak, hiss and how i could smell the earth all around me, the green smell of grass, the moisture-rich dirt, and the old rose bush in my neighbor, maxine's yard.

i remember my neighborhood sidekick, mikey and i found a pack of matches in the small patch of trees and brush in the back of her yard. after three matches, we had a pretty good camp fire going, until the whole patch caught on fire and the firetrucks came. i often wonder what ever happened to mikey. we moved away before i was at an age to care to keep in contact. i wonder if he ever wet the bed, like the grown-ups used to say if you played with fire.

moving so often creates gaps in different parts of your life. most of them the friendships you make on the way. i have made several friends, some strong ones, so we still keep in close contact, but there are several others. others, i wish i would have tried harder or didn't feel foolish or shy to say, "hey, i really like you, i know i am moving away but why not try to stay in touch."

i know for many, life gets in the way. ones becomes two's and two's become three's and fours. before you know it, there is soccer practice, piano lessons, and 6 o'clock dinner to prepare for. who has time for old connections?

yesterday, i was looking up information on morocco. i visited morocco, for only two days, a few years ago when i was staying in barcelona. i became enchanted with the place. the dirt, the architecture, the aroma's, the people. as i was researching morocco, i came across a website of an old friend. it was amazing to see how much he has grown in just a few years. i knew him when his passion was just beginning and how he has created a world around him that embodies his original inspiration is beautiful.

we dated for a very short time when i knew him, but we were more than just two people waiting for our time to leave the small town we were temporarily stuck in. we helped each other keep our ideas alive. even if we were in transition, it didn't mean our dreams and our goals had to be put on hold too. we were each other's reinforcers, that this small, dink, town wasn't our ends, it was our beginnings. we both moved out west, he to san fransisco to study film/documentary work and me to san diego to study design and architecture.

we lost touch as we both dove into our new objectives and experiences. but, losing touch doesn't mean we have lost our respect and warm wishes toward one another. i emailed him and he back. our excitement is true and that is what i call friendship. an ability to retain love and respect with out constant affirmation. i've missed you reed, stay well.

the same thing happened between jimmy and i. we met when i first moved to san diego. we became fast friends but then we lost touch for over a year. when we happened to cross each other's path again, it was as if that year had never existed and we were finally ready for what we weren't ready for the year before.

i don't know if mikey and i would ever be able to rekindle a friendship, i don't think i could pick him out of a crowd. though, i am sure he remembers the fire. we both received lickings and our names were in the paper.

but as for my friends whom i haven't spoken to in a while, let's pick up where we left off, tell me all your stories and i will tell you all of mine...

below, an offering of a big thumbs up, for all of the lost friends out there and for all of our journeys yet to be told...