Trying to Get Down.. to the Heart of the Matter..

The last month or so has been ... unusual. I'm not too sure what the cosmos has in store, but it seems to be one of those periods for me... One of those stretches where the past comes back to either haunt you or wrap you in a familiar embrace. There has been a funeral, some birthdays and several reunions of sorts.. occasions that cause me to get extremely reflective and nostalgic and have me comtemplating "what ifs?" and "what next?" as well as "what the heck is going on?"... what is the heart of the matter..?

My daughter's birthday was fabulous on many levels... but one of the highlights for me was seeing my friend Angie for the first time in years. She and I were neighbours in 2 different locations for more than ten years. We saw each other every day and went through relationships, break ups, births, deaths, crazy parties, crazy exes... changing locks in the middle of the night one time. Living as neighbours.. even working together at one point. We've known each others' kids since before they were born. And then we lost touch after I moved. I've missed her over the years so it was great to see her, catch up and commiserate. We are hopeful to get our relationship back on track once I'm a little closer geographically.

Several weeks ago I ran into someone I went to high school with whilst at the "Y". I knew she lived in Barrie and only recognized her through the magic of Facebook.. Then a couple of weeks ago I met up for coffee in Orillia with a high school friend of mine (again.. in touch through FB..) who is working nearby for a while.. coincidentally, next door to my old office. It was so great to see him. Then a couple of weeks ago a bunch of former co-workers got together.. we had all worked for the same radio station at one point. I hadn't worked with all of them.. but knew them all.. it was so much fun to see them. Got to see some people I hadn't seen for a very long time. It was a very good weekend. One of the best nights ever.

The following weekend I went to a reunion of people I had gone to high school with... mostly people who had been in the graduating class before me. However, it was still great to see people I hadn't seen in 20 years.. (okay, more than 20.. I'm super old..) The biggest drag was that my BFF and Hallway Patrol cohort Stephen Ross was not in attendance. He is truly the wind beneath my wings. (please note that he bribed/enticed/blackmailed me to insert his name into this..)
I saw people I hadn't seen in years.. some of whom I hadn't been super close with then.. but I like them.. but got the strange feeling that if the situation had been different we may have been BFF's. I really had much fun.

I got a call out of the blue that I had hoped to get many years ago! A friend who I've lost touch with a long time ago found me. He has a difficult job. Made it hard to track him down.. which I didn't.. he found me... he sounded exactly the same. We've yet to see each other in person.. but soon I hope.

My brother in law.. Joe.. lost his dad during this same time period. The daughter and I got a little lost on the way to the funeral (DAMN YOU MAPQUEST!!) and so were a little late. Freddie was a great man. He didn't run a country.. he was not a millionaire. But he was the type of man that everyone loved. Freddie was one of the richest men ever.

The church was packed. Obviously a beloved person. My favourite Freddie story ever is the one where he accidently ends up in the Niagara on the Lake Santa Claus parade in his beat green pick up truck.. but doesn't even get why people are driving so slow.. and people are waving at him.. till he looks in the rearview and sees "goddamned santa claus". And yes, that is funnier with a German accent.

Freddie was .. and still is.. awesome. But the thing that struck me most was the effect he had on others. He was the guy who didn't get the whole "coffee break" thing. Work didn't get done then you were taking a break. He got things done. If more people aspired to his work ethic.. things would be better. I am convinced of that. I can only try harder to be more like him.

So.. Long story short. ...I'm in a flux. I feel that the universe is trying to tell me something. The past is trying to influence my future. Likely, I'm supposed to learn something. I only hope that I'm not too old to learn new tricks.. or get down to the heart of the matter, as it were.

Life: Pass
Love: Taking the fifth
Pants: got some