Howdy, friends!
Just had to share the news that, finally, after two and a half years of online acquaintance, I met one of my dearest friends face to face for the first time--Melinda (Sashca1007), right here in my hometown! Melinda and I first met on IMDb back in February 2004, just days after I turned thirty-seven, and we developed an immediate and lasting rapport. It turned out we had a mutual friend
, which made our developing acquaintance all the more interesting.
Melinda encountered BbM almost two months before I did, but when I finally caught up with it, I fell in love with this masterpiece as ardently as she had, and this shared enthusiasm just deepened our already existing friendship. Even though we were separated by half a continent's distance, it was most reassuring to have such a beautiful human being accompany me in spirit on this amazing Brokeback journey.
Melinda had occasion to visit my home town for the first time this past Tuesday, November 7th. My sister Cathy and I arranged to meet her at Pappacito's, a Mexican-food restaurant, where we proceeded to enjoy a delicious meal and scintillating conversation. Melinda is such a gorgeous, gentle soul, and I could scarcely count my blessings at being in the presence of someone who in my eyes is a living legend. Cathy and I saw Melinda off at her motel nearby, and I arranged to meet Melinda the next day for another round of visiting and getting better acquainted (I was taking the day off from work).
Melinda picked me up from my home the following morning, and drove me to a dental appointment which was important for me to keep. That didn't take long, and from there we proceeded to my usual haunt of the campus, where I took my friend to see the world's oldest photograph and our copy of the Gutenberg Bible, both on permanent display. We then visited the library at which I work, and from there went to the new Museum of Art, where works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, two of Melinda's favorite artists, were available for viewing. There is one enormous Remington canvas that is one of the museum's treasures, and also a bronze sculpture by the same artist that I think is even more beautiful. I showed Melinda some of my favorite works in the collection, including a masterpiece by Nicolas de Largilliere (a
Portrait of a Gentleman from circa 1715), and my very favorite among the collection, a
Holy Family by Mattia Preti that is so touching in its understated gentleness.
From there, we went to find something to eat, and I took her to a Thundercloud's sandwich shop which had a mural that I knew she would appreciate. I was right! We ate our sandwiches next to this mural, and Melinda showed me a treasure trove of photographs she had brought from her personal collection of memorabilia; we spent three hours in conversation thus engaged.
From here, we walked to Lobo, just two stores down, which is our local lesbigay bookstore. Melinda expressed her admiration for the establishment, and we both marvelled at the incredible variety and quantity of merchandise. At that point, we drove to my sister's church, where she was finishing up choir practice, and we all three repaired to Threadgill's, a local iconic restaurant, for dinner. Melinda really enjoyed her meal (you can't go wrong at Threadgill's), and we visited well into the night, Cathy leaving a bit earlier to go home and prepare for the next day.
Melinda dropped me off at my house, but not before we purchased a couple of Dr. Pepper's so that Melinda could sample that fabled beverage in "Dr. Pepper country"
, and we visited some more before Melinda repaired back to her motel in preparation for driving to Dallas the next day and flying out from there. I told her before parting that hopefully it won't be too long before our next meeting--maybe in Colorado or Alberta!
Well, this was a dream come true, to be sure. Melinda was every bit as sweet and thoughtful as I knew she would be, and I count myself most fortunate to call her friend. She is a real treasure, and I am so happy to know she is here among us at BetterMost, continuing this path of shared love and discovery in honor of two presences we call Jack and Ennis.
Sharing the good news,
Scott
