The month of February finally vacated the pages of the calendar, though it left kicking and screaming. Although that evil month did indeed finally come to an end, it didn't leave before taking our beloved Davy Jones with it. Despite the trials and tribulations that February bestowed upon us, now is the time to look forward, in anticipation to sunnier skies and happier times. As I write this, I am in the middle of celebrating happier times (Charles Ponzi and I have a birthday today) and reflecting on the past.
I'm beginning to realize that as each year passes, the circle of people I define as "friends" gets smaller and smaller. This fact becomes most evident on birthdays and other similar celebratory occasions - - in which I find there are few people I look forward to spending my time with. I image that as time passes, we all see friends leave the reservation, new friends take their place, and if we're lucky, we find those rocks that are always there - - either physically or in our hearts and minds.
I also find - - as I image most people do - -that I spend a significant amount of time on this day of my birth, reflecting on the past and those people that inhabited that past. Speaking as someone who's been single since about 1999 - - a time in which I awaited with baited breath for the impending doom and chaos of Y2K and the Spice Girls topped the charts - - so I can't really claim that my past is littered with the broken hearts of the women I've encountered, but it doesn't mean that I haven't loved my fair share.
The women of my past all had their flaws - - the women of my present are of no exception - - but despite that, I can say that the few I loved will always be with me. One of my favorite writers recently wrote on this subject and went so far as to pen the following brilliance, "He loved the wrong women, or the right women at the wrong time." This gem is exactly how I feel about all the women of my past, but describes my present with even more precision.
The bright side about time is that people change and wounds heal, becoming what Machiavelli described as memories and waking-dreams. I can confidently say that I've changed over the years, hopefully that change has been more positive than negative in nature. So as I take a short break during my birthday merriness to pen this brief entry, I reflect on all those past / current loves and friends that are forever a part of me. Some of those can't be here with me either because of geography and others, because of circumstance.
All of those beautiful souls from my past influenced the person I am today, whether they know it or not. The path I've been traveling has brought me sorrow and joy while teaching me valuable lessons along the way. I strive to be a more caring, understanding, and open minded person. As I have reached the ripe ol' age of thirty-two today, I find it so important to express my love and appreciation for those people that leave indelible marks on my soul - - life is just not long enough to do otherwise.
Now more than ever, I realize that we all carry around the baggage of life - - we are all but curbside valets to our experiences - - but it's that baggage that makes us the people we are. As the irrepressible James T. Kirk once expressed, "They're the things we carry around with us [our personal baggage]...if we lose them, we lose ourselves!"
So as I end this somewhat erratic blog post and return to my libations, I'll repeat and reflect on that wonderful sentiment, I've never loved the wrong women, rather the right women at the wrong times.
Cocktail of the week(end):
Any well-made spirit that makes you happy!
The consumption of any beverage pairs very well with the musical philosophy of Neil Young.
Happy weekend!
