I adore it
I love it
Having friends
Has saved me
I think, all the time, of friends that have come and gone. I think about how great it will be when I see them again.
Significant moments can happen with people whose presence may be fleeting in your life. But that gives them no less significance in the big picture.
Memory: June 1994, San Francisco
My friend Dan's neighbor, Michael, drove me to the airport. I had been there for a week. I was escaping the chaos that was my divorce. What better, safer place. My sweet friend Dan took the week off. We explored, we walked, we talked, we laughed and we cried. During the week stay, his neighbor Michael was a constant fixture. Just a big, sweet, lovable presence. Who made us dinner and told us stories. He was the first person I ever met who was HIV positive. He was an open soul, and I only knew him for like 6 days. He was driving me to the airport and I was bitching about my life and after a week of hearing it he turned to me and said;
"Honey, there comes a time when you have got to pick up your petticoats and get on with it."
Then he bid me goodbye. We hugged, and I never saw him again. He had an accent. Atlanta, I think. But you know, I never, ever, forgot that. He told me what I needed to hear more than anyone else could and he was an outsider. A virtual stranger compared to most everyone else. Or else maybe, (and this is my favorite theory) he was an angel. :-)
