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Post 1733, Day 263 of 2016
- 2,089 days since I started this blog -
Daily Comment
- 2,089 days since I started this blog -
Lately, I have been having a long-form conversation with an old, dear friend from North Carolina. My best friend down there for twenty years.
About six years ago, my friend took offense at something I wrote in a group email, and cut me off. I was "dead" to him. On a few occasions over the years, I reached out to him, but was rebuffed (pretty angrily) the first time and the others were not responded to.
While we were out of touch, he got colorectal cancer. Went through a very bad time, and in the chemo- and radiation-therapy aftermath, worse.
He went to Crete to die.
Instead, he was shown a lot of love by his neighbors, and came back reinvigorated, finding his 'lost' muse and a new purpose in life, and we reconnected.
That is why the long letters (can I call email correspondence letters? Rhetorical question - I've decided, yes). We haven't spoken or Skyped (which we used to do), which I find surprising, but this is how he has chosen to work stuff out for me.
The letters are, in many ways, like these daily comments. They serve a dual purpose. One purpose is to communicate - just reach out with something personal, which may have some small impact on someone else. The other is to explain myself - the audience for that is me, of course.
I get tremendous benefit from setting my thoughts about philosophy, activities, ideas, dreams and trivia down in words, where I can examine them.
Because they are different that way, and I can look at whatever I'm writing about with fresh eyes. A thing seems to make sense, but while you're spinning the story, you can't tell if it really does.
These notes to my friend are explaining myself - because things have changed in both of us that are best explained by talking about our present state of mind, endeavors, ambitions, while at the same time reclaiming the history of our friendship, and maybe revisiting some specifics to clarify both past and present.
I get a lot out of reading what he sets down - it's a gift to me, really. Correspondence used to be the main way people went 'deep' and discussed ideas and philosophies, and I'm happy to reclaim that.
But what I write to him? I hope he gets at least some small percentage of what it brings to me.
And, of course, I couldn't be more grateful for having back what he brings to my life.
About six years ago, my friend took offense at something I wrote in a group email, and cut me off. I was "dead" to him. On a few occasions over the years, I reached out to him, but was rebuffed (pretty angrily) the first time and the others were not responded to.
While we were out of touch, he got colorectal cancer. Went through a very bad time, and in the chemo- and radiation-therapy aftermath, worse.
He went to Crete to die.
Instead, he was shown a lot of love by his neighbors, and came back reinvigorated, finding his 'lost' muse and a new purpose in life, and we reconnected.
That is why the long letters (can I call email correspondence letters? Rhetorical question - I've decided, yes). We haven't spoken or Skyped (which we used to do), which I find surprising, but this is how he has chosen to work stuff out for me.
The letters are, in many ways, like these daily comments. They serve a dual purpose. One purpose is to communicate - just reach out with something personal, which may have some small impact on someone else. The other is to explain myself - the audience for that is me, of course.
I get tremendous benefit from setting my thoughts about philosophy, activities, ideas, dreams and trivia down in words, where I can examine them.
Because they are different that way, and I can look at whatever I'm writing about with fresh eyes. A thing seems to make sense, but while you're spinning the story, you can't tell if it really does.
These notes to my friend are explaining myself - because things have changed in both of us that are best explained by talking about our present state of mind, endeavors, ambitions, while at the same time reclaiming the history of our friendship, and maybe revisiting some specifics to clarify both past and present.
I get a lot out of reading what he sets down - it's a gift to me, really. Correspondence used to be the main way people went 'deep' and discussed ideas and philosophies, and I'm happy to reclaim that.
But what I write to him? I hope he gets at least some small percentage of what it brings to me.
And, of course, I couldn't be more grateful for having back what he brings to my life.
Food and Diet
Today's Weight: 202.8 lbs.
Diet Comment
Previous Weight (9/16): 203.8 lbs.
Net Loss/Gain: - 1.0 lbs.
Diet Comment
A loss on a weekend that had a fair amount of high-carb eating, man, I'm lucky!
Food Log
Breakfast
6:15pm:
Dinner
 |
| Omelet with peppers, onion, greens, chia seeds, hemp seeds, parmesan cheese and bacon. |
Lunch
8:10pm: A Quest bar.
11:20pm: Salmon salad (wild-caught salmon, celery, home-made mayonnaise, spinach, Spring mix, cabbage), cottage cheese, and a Quest bar.
Liquid Intake
Espressos: 1; Coffee: 22 oz.; Tea: 0 oz.; Water: 64+ oz.
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
My first time coming to your Blog! I love it. If I had met you when we were 16 - it would be no different - we would hang and all thing greats would be our gig - art, music and idea exchange. You changed my life - if only I could have that sooner ;-) And that is one of my favorite photos of you, young man. I need to frame and put it in my stone tent in Crete with the icons of saints I already have the wall !! The kind of photo that you start your day with - look at it and smile - I am smiling now ;-)
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