My weekend ... #2 ...

When I published #1 two days ago, I told you that this one would be the 'next post'. At the time I thought it would, but so much has been happening and my mind has been full of so many different things that I just 'had' to publish a couple of others in between.

While it might seem to you like I've been trying to make up for lost time - I didn't publish at all Sunday or Monday, that's really not the case. Just a lot going on. I'll tell you about some of it later, but let's move on to this past Sunday.


I drove down to LaMarque - almost to Galveston - where I met up with Chuck and Whalechaser at Kelley's Restaurant. Do these names sound familiar to you? They should!

[Oh, if only you could see me right now! I have this huge smile on my face that extends outward for a few feet - a 'slight' exaggeration, I hope you understand - each direction whenever I even think about those next couple of hours!! Don't know how successful I'm going to be writing this post. I can feel my cheekbones being stretched to their absolute limits here.]


I arrived a few minutes late. (I'd had to stop two or three times along the way to jot down questions I wanted to ask them.) When I got to the front door of the restaurant, I could see the two of them sitting just inside, waiting, with these humongous grins on their faces.

I started screaming. Literally! I stayed outside for a few seconds, just screaming my head off!! When they both started to get up and move towards me, I thought I'd better try and get my act together and go inside so we could start with the hugs already.

[Still had another scream or two left in me, tho, as I discovered.]


Oh, man! The next couple of hours were spent in laughter (occasionally uproarious!), almost non-stop talking, and picture-taking. Every time I looked up from my food, it seemed - and don't ask me how we found time to eat, but we did! - there was another camera pointed in my face. Boy oh boy, do those two ever like to take pictures!!


At one point I thought I heard - it was Chuck who would have asked - (something like), "Where would you rather be, Goldenrod? Here with us or on a cruise?" (They were about to embark on their first-ever Caribbean cruise.)

There were several seconds of absolute silence as I contemplated what I thought was a serious question. I thought he was giving me an either/or hypothetical.

Whalechaser said, "He's really not asking you to make a choice here." (She's intuitive as well as empathetic, and had seen my quandary.)

"Well, in that case," I answered, "I'll have both! But if there's only one choice, I'll take this moment. Now! I'm having an absolutely wonderful time!!"

And I was! It was, truly, a very special 'moment in time' for me, and I was savoring each and every second.


All too often, I think, we allow some of these wondrous occasions to just slip on by, sometimes even taking them for granted. Not this one! No no, not this one. I will keep vivid memories of those precious few hours in my memory banks for a long, long time.