I drank beer at a divey beach bar this weekend on the fourth of July with two guy friends from college. We were just to the side of the Santa Monica Pier, bursting with tourists and locals and children clutching cotton candy. Sun fell upon my shoulders and it felt fuzzy and wonderful. We sat among surfer dudes and bikini-clad women and I fell in love, all over again, with Los Angeles. The three of us grinned at each other like kids and—later—meandered the LA streets late at night, nothing but us talking in the car, that cool evening breeze coming in from the window and brushing my hair back. I felt young and happy and alive.
These are two guys who have seen me sloshed beyond comprehension. They’ve escorted me to the bars, impromptu college shenanigans; game nights with cheap beer and bad poker hands; pub crawls from sundown ‘til bar close; they’ve stopped by my apartment and have helped me move.
Earlier in the day, we sat at a bus stop off of Wilshire. We hadn’t seen each other in a good year and we haven’t lived in the same city, us three, in at least five. I envision a wide and genuine smile crossed my face when I said, “Look, here we are. Five years ago we graduated college and now it’s the afternoon of the 4th of July and here we are! We’re sitting at a bus stop in Los Angeles! Together! What do you think about that?”
These are two guys who have seen me sloshed beyond comprehension. They’ve escorted me to the bars, impromptu college shenanigans; game nights with cheap beer and bad poker hands; pub crawls from sundown ‘til bar close; they’ve stopped by my apartment and have helped me move.
Earlier in the day, we sat at a bus stop off of Wilshire. We hadn’t seen each other in a good year and we haven’t lived in the same city, us three, in at least five. I envision a wide and genuine smile crossed my face when I said, “Look, here we are. Five years ago we graduated college and now it’s the afternoon of the 4th of July and here we are! We’re sitting at a bus stop in Los Angeles! Together! What do you think about that?”
They laughed at me, at my smile, and there we were in the sun as the cars whizzed by on Wilshire. But what about it? Did they think about it? Did they think we’d be in LA together on the 4th of July, just five years ago?
There’s something so whimsical and wonderful about that, don’t you think? The crossing of paths, those well-worn friendship trails, after so many years. Overgrown and rough but, somehow, you manage to still navigate.
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