Travels and Thoughts
After a wonderful, warm shower and a long walk with Riley, I packed up my "rig" for our travels West. It's another gorgeous, dry, cool, and sunny day in Oklahoma! We finally arrived at the Bergman's around 1:00 pm, and what a highly anticipated and joyous moment it was. Of course, I hadn't seen any of them since Carol's death, and I was anxious about my emotional reaction to that. Carol was a dear friend to all of them. Although Carol's presence was with us all afternoon, we never spoke directly about her passing for which I was very thankful. The stories in which Carol's name came up reminded us all of how precious she was to everyone there!
As we started talking, It was as if I had just returned from vacation back East rather than having been away for nearly 35 years! We laughed as we remembered all the funny things that happened so long ago, and we were sad as we recounted those stories that did not end so well.
Terry and Mike made me feel so welcomed! They have a warm, generous spirit that I remember so well from our years in Erick! I had forgotten just how tall Mike is! Of course, the years have seen me shrink and broaden out somewhat - evils of gravity and good food! Terry's laughter is as infectious as it was in Erick! Terry, I think, is one of those rare individuals incapable of small or spiteful thoughts - would that I could catch that characteristic!
Kern and Sharon, too, were a pleasure to see again! Of course, Sharon has remained as youthful and attractive as she was 3 decades ago! Noticing her "fountain of youth" appearance and my "doom of destiny" fate, Carol consoled me by attributing it all to genes! I missed that pair for sure!! It has been interesting knowing Kern as my principal and boss, as a valued advisor, as the brother of our dear friend, Neta, and as a close friend! Unfortunately, it is hard to speak of the value of friendship without descending to trite cliches; however, I have been fortunate and blessed to have experienced all of those benefits in my friendships with the Bedells, the Bergmans, and the McMinns!
Happily, the McMinns live but a proverbial stone's throw from the Bergmans in northwest OKC. What a blessing to live that close to dear friends!
Unfortunately, we forgot to "make" a photo of Clay and his wife before they left for Lake Texoma! However, it was but a nanosecond before I recognized the Clay I knew in Erick - quick, animated, vocal, witty, and so refreshingly open and honest in every reaction he shared! Clay, or "Bubba" as Kern and Mike call him, is the only one of the group who has been in our home back East; we were so happy to visit with Kern and Sharon when they came to Cape Henlopen and Rehoboth so many years ago; and I am looking forward to Mike and Terry's visit soon - perhaps Cooperstown, NY.