Actually, it is more that I have been spending a lot of time catching up with old friends. Not necessarily friends that are old (although one is in her 90’s) but those for whom there is a certain, let us say, ‘depth’ to the relationship. Pictured below is Tony Sbrana. Tony and I have known each other since high school, although we were in different years at different schools. We met through Young Life, and the real friendship began later when we worked together in Young Life at Monterey High. Over the years Tony has given much laughter and shared many of his creative talents with me, but what I appreciate most is the gift of presence he gave during several of my family’s times of loss. You know your true friends when they show up for you… “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Prov. 17:17)
I’ve also spent time with another colleague from that period, and 2 of the high school students we worked with (some of those former students have children who have graduated from high school now!)
My family also had a big family holiday weekend. Friday was my sister’s birthday, so my brother-in-law fired up the grill… then did it again for July 4th. We had the type of family meal I remember from the 4th of July when I was a boy: BBQ, corn-on-the-cob, home-made ice cream with strawberries. Unfortunately Monterey has banned all fireworks and there were no public displays within 50 miles. We could see and hear the occasional illegal one down toward the beach, though.
On Monday I said good-bye and drove through the holiday traffic to LA (20 mph on I-5 over the whole Grapevine!) and spent a great 20 hours with Prof. Yann Schrodi and his wife Janet. I intended to post something then, but we watched the World Cup semifinal (Yann is from Alsace-Lorraine and of course a big soccer fan) and then walked across campus to his office. I then hopped on the freeway to downtown, driving partway in rush-hour traffic on some famous streets including Rodeo Drive, Wilshire Blvd., and Santa Monica Blvd. to meet the son of my college roommate who is an aspiring screenwriter. Then on to Santa Monica and its famous beach for an evening with Dr. Ji-Jon Sit and his wife Felicity. We walked through the downtown for some frozen yogurt and talked past midnight. I had really, really planned to post something then, but I can’t trade a conversation with friends I have not seen for too long with writing about missing the chance to have a conversation with friends I have not seen for too long! As I have commented about all social media, they are great for keeping up with absent friends, but no substitute for present ones.
So now I am on a plane bound for Boston, and a brief stopover to pick up my mail, restock my vitamins, get my hair cut, check-in with my spiritual director, and head back to the airport for another long flight on Sunday morning.
Below: Yann (MIT PhD 2001 Chemstry) in his office (the bumper sticker with the ??? is great!);
then Felicity, me, Ji-Jon
Good to see you back up and posting. I agree that time with is better than reporting on the time. It sounds like you've had some great times the past few weeks. I'll look forward to catching up with you.
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