You know how when you are trying to leave to go somewhere that is when everything happens?
I thought I was in good shape until Sunday moring, I picked up the news paper to see if I were in the obits, I wasn't but I was shocked to see an acquaintence of mine there.
Phillip was a real nice guy who worked in the ER of the hospital I used to work in. He was a plain looking guy, no one ever knew him to have a boyfriend or anything. I had first met him at a bar one new years, I think it was becoming 1994. He was a nice fella. Everyone liked him.
I thiught of him last Tuesday when I was at the Grandin Theater in Roanoke to see Eastern Promises. I remembered my second trip there to see Brokeback Mountain, he was waiting n the lobby by hmself to see the next showing, all by himself. That was nearly two years ago and I had not spoken to him or runinto himto even ask what he though. That was Tuesday, on Thursday he was at work, turned to get something and suffered a massive heart attack. He was dead before he hit the floor. He was 52 years old.
For whatever reason he did not make the Friday paper, and the same paper does not publish on Saturday, so on Sunday there he was, with funeral for 3 pm that afternoon. Shit! I would have gone if I were not planning to be on the road, and I could imagine him telling me to go on and enjoy. So that was what I did.
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I don't believe I have ever seen so many dead red foxes. I must have seen a dozen of them on the side of the roads. Up 220 to Roanoke, then I81 to mile marker 300 and I66 toward Washington. The cars around you after a while become like family. You see a bumper sticker of a personalized tag pass and after a while you pass them. Sometime you stop for gas and rejoinging traffic you are passed by one of your old friends who pulled off back a ways. There was some good mellow music on public radio.
From I66 I got on the beltway going north just a ways and turnt off on Leesburg Pike, and recognized the hotel from its picture on the website. Lynne had not got there yet, so I hung out looking like a bum with sox and sandals on. Presently she arrived, the only passanger in a 12 passanger van, I thought she would be travelling with a bunch of folks from her facility, but that were not the case. We hugged mightily and got checked in to a beautiful room on the 19th floor with a killer view. You could even see a mountain in the distance.
Nova told us how easy it was to reach the Reston Town Center from there. About 10 minutes away. The whole sprawl had been a forst 20 years ago, and now reminded me a bit of Italy. We parked in the free garage (imagine that, a free parking garage) and found them 3 sittingby the fountain in the dark. I though about pulling a Rayn and hollering "Hello Brokies" like he did on the Jack Ascending Hike but it was not necessary. They seen us. And as soon as we crossed the street the lights came on.
So there we were, 5 Alberta Pilgrims reunited. Four of us refugees of the famous hike and all of us survivors of the hayride from hell. In a different country, on a beautiful warm fall evening. There were hugs all around. Nova knew where a Mexican resturant was, "nearby" so we set out, segregating ourselfes in to guys and gals for the walk. It was about 5 minutes, long enough for Nova to tell us he is of the opinion we actually were on Mt. Inflexible, where the computor generated Jack heards sheep and Ennis watches him in the creek with his pants leg rolled up. We had thought we were on a mountain next to it, but having consulted arial photos he is now of the opinion we were almost exactly in the right place.
Our waiter, Brian, was a local guy who were to school at Middle Tennessee State, which made me wonder why he was not in Murfreesboro right now. He was wearing a tshirt advertizing their findraising for breast cancer research that read "Pink is the new black". What ever you say buddy. He handed us the menues and Lynne noticed right away they did indeed have fish tacos.
Well, for some reason after that I could not see anything else on the menu so that was what I enede up ordering. They were generic white fish deep fried, I got three of them and some black beans and rice and I ate two of them. I think that will do me for a while. We also had a margarita a piece, which got us a little giddy. While partaking we learned two new words from Goaboydc: Indicizigig, which is when you almost run into someone and you move one way and they move the same way, etc. and Hangtangulation, which is when you put all the coat hangers in the closet just so and when you come back the are all tangled up and caught on one another. There is a classification for these words, but the sugar packet I was writing on was not big enough to write it too.
Nova had found a book for Tamarack whenthey were out earlier in the day. I think it was called Girls who love Boys who love Boys. Lynne is gone get the skinny on this book and get the word out, it sounds inneresting.
And of course in this day and age what would complete the evening but a cell phone call to those who could not be with us, Meryl and Juan and later, to Paul, to see if he had ever come up with the name of the muscle Lynne pull riding the mechanical bull. He said all of them. It was wonderful, I don;t thnk I had talked to the three of them that much on Alberta.
Topic: Shakesthegrounds Rumblings (Read 2627030 times)