Notes from me to you

I had dinner plans, last night, with my dear friend Jake. I thought it odd that he actually wanted to have dinner in St. Paul, (vs. Minneapolis) as this is the common battle between us when we get together. =) I prefer good ol' St. Paul, of course, so I figured he was going easy on me this time, with it being our "last supper" and all. Either way, I was fine with it!

He picked me up and we had dinner at Punch.... my favorite! We were having a nice time, when all of the sudden Jake wanted to get out of the restaurant. I was a little shocked at this abrupt change, as I wasn't even done with my dinner (or wine!). Its not all that terribly unusual for Jake to get impatient with my slow eating, but he was much more persistent in wanting to leave this time. Despite this, I took my time finishing my food! Ha! I knew we were going to get a drink after dinner but this was my last night at Punch and I was going to savor it.

On the car ride to wherever we were going, I expressed my sincere concern for Jake's sudden irritability in the restaurant. We were talking (well, it was mostly me doing the talking) about this.. all of the way into O'Garas. Then Jake says to me, "there's only a few of us, but ..." and I can't remember what he said next, because I looked to where he was pointing and there were BJ and Ben!!!! ahhhh.... and this was the real reason jake wanted to leave Punch. I was instantly humbled and felt bad for giving Jake such a hard time! This was a fantastic surprise!!!

Jake, BJ, and Ben are good friends of mine from college- Concordia- where I was welcomed into their little circle of friends at the end of my freshman year. Over the course of those years, they became the kind of friends, as most of my close friends from Concordia, in which the closeness never ends... no matter how much time elapses between visits, there are years of meaningful memories, conversations, disagreements, laughter, tears, joy, Eddies and Gladys', etc... that bond us.. well.. forever. As BJ would say, "you'll always be a best friend, no matter how often we talk." oh tears...




(This is the best my camera phone could do!)

It was an absolute delight to be surprised by this gathering... and just when i thought the surprise was over, Ekbar showed up! Oh joy! I had a great night with these fellas. And.. it was a tearful goodbye, for even though they will always be near to my heart, to the very core of who I am today, I will miss being in the presence of their beautiful souls.

Thanks, Jake. :)