I miss my friend
I remember walking with Mary one rainy, miserable Fall evening — and talking about life. It really wasn’t a deep conversation looking back — we really just were touching lightly on the topic of how fleeting life could be for all of us; not only those living with a terminal illness. Despite the awful prognosis given to her — years before — Mary could talk to you as though she had absolutely everything in common with you. Looking back I believe Mary’s strength stemmed from the fact that she lived truly in the ‘here and now.’ Despite the fact that it was rainy & miserable; despite the fact that her head had to have been cold; despite the fact that she looked so tired, she seemed to really enjoy just talking and walking. We bumped into an acquaintance of mine — Mary introduced herself and turned her attention to conversing with him. It felt like I was watching someone from a long distance away. How she could immediately draw someone “in” ? Find that something in the “right now” of interest to discuss…? Mary at 40 … she will always be larger than life to me. Despite everything she endured, she was totally into talking, laughing — and just taking “in” that here and now. I miss my friend. I miss seeing 503.804.7271 on my caller i.d.
